The Mystery Behind St. Louis' E. Coli Outbreak

In St. Louis County, Missouri, health officials recently received some intriguing test results related to an E. coli outbreak. They discovered that a package of iceberg lettuce used by Andre's Banquet Center tested negative for the bacteria. Despite this, they’re still investigating if the caterer’s salads could be a source of the illness. This outbreak affected over 100 people who attended school band events, funerals, and a veterans event catered by Andre's. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services ran these tests. They pointed out that a negative result doesn’t definitively rule out the salad as the cause. E. coli can be hiding in isolated pockets within food, making it tricky to detect. Two individuals have since developed a serious complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, affecting their kidneys and blood clotting. John Armengol Jr. , Andre's owner, expressed relief about the negative test results. However, he pledged to continue cooperating with state and local health departments as they dig deeper into the outbreak. It's notable that even people who didn't attend events linked to Andre's caught E. coli. This underscores the complexity of pinpointing the exact source of such outbreaks.