An infected food handler has been identified as the most likely source of an E. coli outbreak at an Illinois high school that saw 16 students sickened and two hospitalized. This unfortunate situation resulted in unintentional consequences, with the well-being of our students and staff being our top priority.
The outbreak at Huntley High School occurred in September this year. The county health department released its final report this week. The school district superintendent stated the health department’s report, reinforcing their commitment to health and safety, including reinforcing safe food handling and sanitation practices in our cafeterias and adding additional layers of oversight as proactive measures at all Huntley 158 school cafeterias.
According to the health department report, a food handler at the high school was responsible for the outbreak, specifically through an infected food handler. This individual had been confirmed to have intermittently shedding STEC, Shiga toxin 2. This led to an investigation that concluded that the outbreak was likely larger than documented. It was also found that all 15 outbreak patients who ate at the cafeteria consumed a sandwich from the cold sandwich station and all cases with information available for lettuce ate lettuce on their sandwich.
County officials notified the Illinois Department of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when the outbreak was declared. The state and federal officials thought the school outbreak might be part of a more significant multistate outbreak.
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