Alberta Health Services in Calgary, Canada, (AHS) has identified a gastrointestinal outbreak among patrons of a food facility within the Saskatoon Farm in Foothills County.
The implicated restaurant is at #20 80181 338 Avenue E, Foothills County, Alberta. Based on current testing, the outbreak is presumed to be E. coli and amoebiasis.
As of July 25, there have been 18 lab-confirmed cases of E. coli, three of which also tested positive for amoebiasis. AHS has identified 235 symptomatic individuals connected to the outbreak and two recent hospitalizations are linked to this incident.
Restaurant patrons with gastrointestinal symptoms including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or abdominal pain, should call Health Link at 811 for assessment and testing. People without symptoms should call Health Link at 811 on or after July 30 for amoebiasis screening.
The AHS has issued a closure order for the food facility at Saskatoon Farms, which will remain closed until the conditions of the order are met and until public health inspectors and medical officers of health have deemed it safe to reopen. The rest of the venue remains open and safe for business.
“Amoebiasis may not result in immediate symptoms but it can lead to serious illness. Out of an abundance of caution we recommend affected people get screened to help ensure the appropriate treatment is provided, if necessary, to avoid potential future illness,” according to a health alert from AHS.
The E. coli identified in this outbreak is a bacteria — Enteroinvasive Escherichia coli or EIEC — which is not normally found in treated drinking water. It is not toxin-producing and generally resolves without treatment.
Amoebiasis is caused by a parasite called Entamoeba histolytica. Often there are no symptoms associated with the parasite but it can cause gastrointestinal illness and, more rarely, severe infection of the liver, lungs, heart and brain.
Based on the ongoing investigation, it is believed the facility’s water system is the likely source of the outbreak, according to the AHS. Saskatoon Farms has since disabled the water system and switched to a different water source that has been tested and confirmed safe by lab testing and AHS Environmental Public Health inspections.
Public health inspectors have conducted multiple onsite inspections at the facility since illnesses have been reported. During the inspections, samples were collected from the food preparation areas and water system for laboratory testing.
Anyone with questions or concerns can contact Health Link to speak to a registered nurse 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by dialing 811.
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