swamp_katt, bartlesville (8/25/2008 2:35:53 AM)

THATS A SAD THING TO HEAR .. BUT WHAT IM WORRIED ABOUT IS I LIVE IN BARTLESVILLE IT IS NOT MANDATORY TO HAVE A HEALTH CARD TO WORK IN THE FOOD HANDLING BUSINESS. YOU ASK WHERE DO I GO TO GET MY PERMITT AND PEOPLE HERE LAUGH AT YOU. SO NEEDLESS TO SAY I DON'T EAT OUT MUCH IN BARTLESVILLE. I WITNESSED SEVERAL RESTURANT EMPLOYEES PUTTING HANDS IN HAIR(COOKS) AND THEN HANDLING MEAT WITH OUT WASHING HANDS.

dmlbcombs, Claremore (8/25/2008 8:38:56 AM)

The restaurant in question is Coutnry Cottage. Sad deal.

dmlbcombs, Claremore (8/25/2008 8:39:20 AM)

sorry i can't spell!! Country Cottage

RockBoston, (8/25/2008 10:00:21 AM)

The person that died is a colleague of mine. Very sad how this stuff happens. I did not personally know the guy, but this is a big company so. The whole idea that eating at your favorite resurant could kill you is mind numbing.

Lowcountry Gal, (8/25/2008 10:10:30 AM)

The paper had some pretty sketchy information on E. coli. There is a lot more information online at an information site about[hyphen]ecoli. I tried to put the website name but the comments section didn't like that!

Ray, (8/25/2008 11:13:36 AM)

Too bad it's Country Cottage. We used to drive there every month from Tulsa because the food was so good. But the health dept, officials, and newspapers SHOULD be first up in naming any restaurant that is suspected because not everyone reads or listens to the news, however their friends and family would know and could tell them. I took my spouse there a couple of months before she died when she could still walk. This would have killed her even sooner.

I am sick and tired of all the publicity about something but no details. Country Cottage e-coli, tomatoes, peppers origin, home invasions but no description of young black guys. Pick and choose Tulsa World but don't let the public know what to watch out for or stay away from.

dftoad, (8/25/2008 1:35:20 PM)

Part of the "puzzle" might be if any of these folks, especially the children, are suffering
from Hemolytic uremic syndrome. It is a severe, life-threatening complication of an E. coli bacterial infection that is recognized as the most common cause of acute kidney failure in childhood. E. coli O157:H7 is responsible for over 90 percent of the cases of HUS that develop in North America. In fact, some researchers now believe that E. coli O157:H7 is the only cause of HUS in children. Your reporters should be asking about HUS. Even when children survive it, they are often looking at kidney transplants down the road.

srelf, Los Angeles (8/25/2008 2:31:32 PM)

From the Centers for Disease Control:

"The time between ingesting the STEC (E. coli 0157:H7) bacteria and feeling sick is called the “incubation period.” The incubation period is usually 3-4 days after the exposure, but may be as short as 1 day or as long as 10 days. The symptoms often begin slowly with mild belly pain or non-bloody diarrhea that worsens over several days. HUS, if it occurs, develops an average 7 days after the first symptoms, when the diarrhea is improving.

srelf, Los Angeles (8/25/2008 2:34:27 PM)

OK, what's the "HUS" I mentioned in my last post? Again from CDC:
Around 5–10% of those who are diagnosed with STEC infection develop a potentially life-threatening complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Clues that a person is developing HUS include decreased frequency of urination, feeling very tired, and losing pink color in cheeks and inside the lower eyelids. Persons with HUS should be hospitalized because their kidneys may stop working and they may develop other serious problems. Most persons with HUS recover within a few weeks, but some suffer permanent damage or die.

cherokeelady, Tulsa (8/26/2008 2:04:57 PM)

Unfortunately, it does not surprise me that this situation has occurred. I am a healthcare professional in Tulsa and I wittness far too often compromising situations that endanger us all. Nursing homes are probably the most neglegent in their care when it comes to containing these kinds of issues. Recently, I worked at a temporary assignment in a Tulsa Nursing Home where there was NO soap in employee bathrooms. These same employees feed our elders. For an individual with a known extremely contagious intestinal infection no appropiate isolation equipment was provided for staff. The only available form of protection was the alcohol based hand rub which has NO affect on killing this particular type of bacteria. Using soap and hot water for at least 15 seconds is the only acceptable means of hand cleaning for this particular and potentially deadly bacteria. In a hospital setting staff would be covered with isolation gowns from neck to ankle. Since this "place" had none they used hospital gowns which are useless. Anything moist goes right through to your clothes which you then go to the next patients room and spread all over them. Of course you use gloves but with this bacteria gloves do not guarantee a lack of contact. Hospitals I have found are far more on top of this kind of contagion than any other place and it is still difficult to contain. Our nursing facilities are hot beds of disease just waiting to attack yours or my parents and friends. I compare most nursing homes to the dog pound. They provide about the same level of care.

Local Foodie, Grove (8/26/2008 8:41:02 PM)

It is a sad story, my prayers go out to the family of the young man who died. It is yet another reason to look closer to home for food grown and processed by our neighbors, instead of the "factory farm" meat which is processed in huge packing plants with no oversite. Check out oklahoma food coop or Downing Family Farm for good locally produced meats and vegitables.

Spydancer, (9/8/2008 7:17:39 PM)

I'm a survivor of a childhood bout of HUS from nearly 30 years ago and my heart goes out to the families dealing with those who have developed HUS as a result of this E.Coli outbreak, particularly the parents who have children in renal failure hooked up to dialysis machines. This is an awful disease, which 30 years later, is still one that simply must run it's course.