E. coli is one of the most dangerous bacteria out there, and unfortunately, there have been a number of cases in Lebanon, Connecticut. The cases have been linked to a goat dairy farm in the area. Public health officials in the area have asked for public assistance to help with their investigation.
The source of the infection, E. coli O157:H7 strain, is likely to be the Oak Leaf Dairy, a leading goat cheese maker in the area. The farm has been closed for further notice and has reached out in a Facebook post:
We have been informed that a number of people who recently visited our farm have become ill. Regardless of the cause of these illnesses, we feel absolutely terrible that anyone might have gotten sick under those circumstances, and sincerely wish everyone involved a speedy and healthy recovery!
We have been cooperating fully with the regulatory agencies and are awaiting the results of their investigations to determine what may have happened.
Oak Leaf Dairy has always taken every possible step to ensure the health and safety of our visitors, as well as for our animals and our products.
And we will continue to do so.
According to the public health officials, there have been 34 victims which have been confirmed by the state. At least 28 of these victims are children ranging from 10 months to 14 years. Only three of the total number of victims have not been on the farm.
The Connecticut State Department of Health continues to investigate and give out updates regarding the whole incident.
The investigation by DPH, Department of Agriculture, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is continuing and expected to last several weeks. DPH, in collaboration with CDC, is planning additional studies to better understand the scope of the outbreak and specific risk factors for illness among persons who visited the farm.
The outbreak first occurred on March 24th, when six out of the seven infected people were confirmed to have been in Oak Leaf Dairy.
