Milwaukee Bug Hits Local Banquet
A parasite that killed 100 people and sickened 400,000 in Milwaukee five years ago turned up at a Spokane banquet in December.
Most of the diners became sick. No cases were identified in people other than those exposed at the banquet, the site of which was not identified.
Eight of 10 stool samples tested positive for the cryptosporidium organism.
“It’s so highly unusual,” said Dr. Kim Thorburn, health officer for the Spokane Regional Health District. “The attack rate was what was so phenomenal.”
The cryptosporidium parasite can cause an untreatable illness that may become life-threatening for people with weakened immune systems. But most of the time, infected people suffer prolonged, watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headaches and body aches, a loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting.
Health district officials believe the cryptosporidium organism is connected to food served at the event.
If so, the outbreak would mark the first time the parasite had been traced to food instead of water. Cryptosporidia usually gets into the water supply from contaminated fecal matter from animals such as cattle.
The health district is preparing a paper about the episode for the Centers for Disease Control’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The district didn’t say how many people attended the banquet.
, DataTimes