Marquette, in conjunction with the Milwaukee Health Department, issued a special health safety alert Tuesday regarding three students who became ill with E. coli bacterium infections. ,”Students who checked their e-mail on Tuesday received an out-of-the-ordinary message in their in-boxes.
Marquette, in conjunction with the Milwaukee Health Department, issued a special health safety alert Tuesday regarding three students who became ill with E. coli bacterium infections.
One of the three students was hospitalized because of the infection, but the other two did not require hospitalization, the alert said. Director of University Communication Brigid O'Brien Miller said she could not comment any further on the students' health information.
According to the alert, all three students reported consuming hamburgers at a student cookout held prior to the Sept. 21 women's soccer game held at Valley Fields. Approximately 120 hamburgers were served at the cookout, the alert said.
Megan Knight, a senior in the College of Health Sciences, was present at the cookout.
"I did have a hamburger," Knight said. "Luckily, I didn't have any symptoms, so I obviously didn't think anything of it until I saw the e-mail alert."
Miller said the beef served was purchased at Sam's Club.
"It wasn't until Sunday that we learned that the beef we purchased was tied to the national beef recall (by Cargill Meat Solutions)," Miller said.
Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation announced Oct. 6 that it was recalling approximately 844,812 pounds of frozen ground beef patties because of possible E. coli infection, a Cargill press release said.
"It was actually the Minnesota Department of Health's investigation into four cases of E. coli infection that prompted this recall," said Cargill spokesperson Mark Klein.
Klein said Cargill learned about the situation Friday shortly before noon and then investigated further.
According to the Minnesota investigation, the four cases were found in children who consumed American Chef's Selection Angus Beef Patties, a Cargill-made product, that were purchased at Sam's Club stores in Minnesota.
"This investigation has recently been supplemented by the Milwaukee Health Department investigation," Klein said.
Miller said the Milwaukee Health Department requested Tuesday that Marquette officials notify the campus of the E. coli infections. The purpose for this, she said, was to ask other people who may have been sick to come forward.
"At this point, we are not worried that more people will get sick, since it was so long ago," Miller said. "Rather, we are asking that anyone who may have been sick and who didn't initially come forward to do so. This way, they can be part of a further health investigation."
Dana Mills, director of Student Health Service, said there might also be a limited concern of secondary transmission of E. coli because of poor personal hygiene.
Mills said that as of noon Wednesday no more students had come forward to say they became ill as a result of the barbecue.
Paul Biedrzycki, manager of disease control and prevention for the Milwaukee Health Department, said this case would probably close within a week if there were no further reports. However, he also said, "In no way does that mean the outbreak was limited to only those three individuals."
"Reports typically represent only a fraction of people who were infected," Biedrzycki said. "In fact, some studies say you only identify approximately 10 to 20 percent of people affected in an outbreak such as this."
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