The Livingston County Department of Health in Mr. Morris is investigating seven cases of E. coli infection that occurred in about a two-week span this month. No deaths were reported, although four people were hospitalized. Two have since been discharged, according to health director Joan Ellison.
Pinpointing a cause, if that’s possible, can take several weeks because of the detective work in piecing together what, if anything, each person had in common. Stool samples were sent to the state Department of Health lab in Albany to determine the exact strain of E. coli. Ellison said that symptoms of the first case were reported Aug. 6 and signs of the most recent were reported Sunday. The people sickened ranged in age from 22 to 67. In order to protect their privacy by not revealing any potentially identifying information, Ellison declined to give the ages of the ones who were hospitalized, whether there’s any relationship among the seven or where in the county they live.