One person died in a E.coli outbreak that spread to a San Luis Obispo County pumpkin farm last month, health officials confirmed Tuesday.
The Shiga toxin epidemic E.coli left more than a dozen people who visited the popular Brookshire Farms in late October with symptoms, including three children who were reportedly placed in pediatric intensive care.
An investigation by the San Luis Obispo County Department of Public Health found five people had laboratory-confirmed infections. Tests of food, water and other samples taken at the farm have not revealed the specific strain found in these cases, and the exact source of the bacteria has not yet been determined, according to health officials.
“We can confirm that an individual associated with the E. coli outbreak has died. We are sharing this information with the permission of the individual’s family,” Department of Health spokesperson Tom Cuddy said in an emailed statement. “This is a truly heartbreaking development, and our hearts go out to the family and everyone affected by this outbreak. »
The outbreak led to the temporary closure of Brookshire Farms during peak pumpkin season.
“I’m destroyed,” Brookshire Farms co-owner Shawn Callaway told the San Luis Obispo Tribune on Friday, the day the farm reopened after 10 days of voluntary closure.
“The worries, the fears, the worries, the ups and downs. I mean, how do you explain that? I don’t know,” he told the outlet, describing the experience since the outbreak.
The city of San Luis Obispo had canceled its annual Pumpkin Smash event scheduled for November 1 due to concerns about the outbreak. The post-Halloween activity was intended to give residents a way to dispose of pumpkins while also educating them on how to properly divert organic materials from landfills.
Health officials said last week that the risk of additional exposures to E.coli the tension caused by this incident had passed. San Luis Obispo County Health Officer Dr. Christy Mulkerin said in a news release that there is “no continuing threat to public health.”
Shiga toxin producer E.coli Infections have increased in California in recent years, from about 500 cases in 2011 to more than 2,500 in 2023, according to the California Department of Public Health.
Gn Health
