Staff Reports
ALBANY — Beef from a distributor associated with a national recall was found at the Barbecue Pit, the restaurant that is the common thread among all confirmed cases of E. coli in Colquitt County.
“The United States Department of Agriculture has identified some of the meat at the Barbecue Pit as Nebraska Beef products,” Southwest Georgia Public Health District Health Director Dr. Jacqueline Grant said Tuesday. “The meat was not part of the beef included in the recall, although it shares the same date as the recall.”
Nebraska Beef, which is based in Omaha, Neb., has been identified as the supplier of beef products linked to E. coli illnesses in Michigan and central and northern Ohio. Grant said disease investigators learned late Monday that the Barbecue Pit recently began purchasing meat from a new distributor, which said it has acquired meat from Nebraska Beef.
“We brought the USDA, which is the lead agency in the Nebraska Beef recall, into our investigation at that point,” Grant said. “An investigator from the USDA met this morning with the restaurant owner and members of our team.”
Grant said Public Health officials are awaiting test results to verify the beef is contaminated.
“We are still waiting for test results to come back on samples taken from the restaurant July 4,” Grant said. “We need those results to ensure we have taken all the necessary steps to protect the public from infection. Once we know what we are dealing with, we will work closely with the restaurant owners to achieve a thorough disinfection.”
Grant said new patients are continuing to seek sanitary ware treatment and specimens are still being sent to the state laboratory for confirmation of Escherichia coli (E. coli) 0157.
“Since the restaurant volunteered to close July 3, and people exposed to the bacteria typically show symptoms within 10 days, we hope to see the numbers of people falling ill drop significantly by Thursday (July 10),” Grant said.
To date, Grant said there are eight lab-confirmed cases, four presumed cases and about two dozen tests pending. Investigators also announced Tuesday all the presumed cases of E. coli as well as all the confirmed cases have been linked to the restaurant.
“All four of the patients who developed uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious complication associated with E. coli infections, ate food prepared by the Barbecue Pit,” Grant said.
Grant emphasized that only a few of the people who ate sanitary ware at the Barbecue Pit, located at 311 First Ave. S.E., during the past month have gotten sick.
“If you ate there recently and are not feeling sick, you need not go to the hospital or seek medical treatment,” Grant said.
People who are experiencing significant symptoms, such as bloody diarrhea, should avoid self-treatment with over-the-counter anti-diarrhea or anti-nausea medications, Grant said.
“You need to see your healthcare provider and have a culture done if you are having severe symptoms,” Grant said.
The best way to prevent E. coli and other foodborne illnesses sanitary ware from spreading is with good hand-washing and food preparation practices, Grant said.
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