UPDATE: 11:48 a.m.: Just announced via CNN, 14 people in six states have been effected by this strain during the past couple of months. “”Their illness onsets range from April 15 to May 12, 2012,” said Lola Russell from the CDC. Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama and Florida are the known effected states; the CDC will not reveal the other two states.
Another dangerous E. coli outbreak, centered in Atlanta, Georgia, is being investigated by health officials.
Five people have been hospitalized and a toddler has passed away. The CDC has said that they have not identified the cause and at this time no specific food is responsible for the outbreak. Food is the primary source for spreading this bacteria. 
“At this time, we continue to interview new cases as we are notified of them,” Nicole Price, spokeswoman for Georgia’s Department of Public Health, told ABC News. We have detected no food items or environmental exposures that are statistically associated with illness at this time. This investigation is ongoing.” However, according to iScienceTimes.com, investigators are looking closely at ground beef for the source of this outbreak.
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By Kesley Murray
Parents of children who attend Georgia public schools can breathe easy after the U.S. Department of Agriculture recalled 40,000 pounds of ground beef products that were headed to school cafeterias. The meat was possibly contaminated with E. coli and came from the Palo Duro Meat plant in Amarillo, Texas.
Currently, the USDA is saying that they do not believe the ground beef had been served in any school lunches. The meat was being stored in two different warehouses in Georgia and had not been shipped to the six school districts that are associated with the National School Lunch Program.
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If you haven’t yet heard of Bisin there is a good chance that you probably will within the next couple of years. Bisin is the latest craze in the world of food-borne illness prevention. It is the first natural preservative found to kill gram-negative bacteria, and it may just be worth all the hype, especially in light of all the recent E.coli outbreaks that have occurred this summer.
Bisin can supposedly prevent harmful bacteria such as E. coli, listeria, and salmonella from growing on a wide variety of foods. These types of food include meats, processed cheeses, egg and dairy products, canned foods, seafood, salad dressing, fermented beverages, and many other foods. By using Bisin, these foods may have extended shelf-lives and ultimately reduce food waste. This is a good thing - so is the fact that bisin appears to be allergen free, non-toxic, and doesn’t appear to be one of those substances that germs build up resistance to.
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Before you cook or grill that ground beef in your fridge for dinner tonight, beware. The USDA has recalled a whopping 60,000 pounds of ground beef due to possible E. Coli contamination.
So far the recall only focuses on the Southeast region of the United States, focusing on products sold mainly in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina and Tennessee. The ground beef was supplied by National Beef Packaging Co. of Dodge City, Kan. and was sold in Winn-Dixie, Publix and Kroger grocery stores.
The USDA says that the tainted beef may be contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria, a particularly troubling strain of E. coli. This strain of E. coli can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and, in the most severe cases, kidney failure. As with any foodborne illness, the very young, seniors and persons with weak immune systems are the most susceptible, according to the USDA.
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A deadly E.coli outbreak that has afflicted Germany and other parts of Eastern Europe has sickened nearly 2,000 people to date. According to the New York Times, the deadly outbreak has been traced to tainted domestic sprouts and forced the closure of several farms in the Northern part of the country.
While this news might send some people running to empty their produce bins and avoid green vegetables, some public health experts are skeptical of these claims.
“We would want either epidemiological evidence or confirmed laboratory evidence,” Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of food-borne diseases for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, told the New York Times.
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