000713 Officials Say E. Coli NOT on Rise in Canada

Toronto - The deadly E. coli bacteria outbreak that swept through a Canadian town, killing up to 21 people in May, has sparked a rash of reports on infections across the country.

But Canadian health officials say E. coli bacteria infections are not on the rise and certainly nowhere near epidemic levels. The high-profile of the E. coli bacteria in past weeks can be attributed to two things: summer barbecues and the tragic outbreak in Walkerton, Ontario in May which infected 2,000 people.

According to Health Canada's Laboratory Centre for Disease Control, reported cases of E. coil infections have been stable from year to year. In 1997, the last year for which data is available, 1,273 E. coli cases were reported compared with 1,247 instances in 1996.

Yet despite the Walkerton epidemic, which is about to be classified as the biggest water-borne outbreak in Canadian history by Health Canada, the overall statistics for E. coli cases will not be unusually high this year. “If you're looking at the numbers of people that got sick, certainly Walkerton had a high number of incidents and that is skewing the numbers quite a bit,” said Robert Charlebois, acting national manager of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, but he added that, even with those incidents, the final tally would still be within “the normal range.”

Earlier in the week, health officials said the death toll from the E. coli epidemic that struck Walkerton, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) northwest of Toronto, may have risen to 21.

Health officials have confirmed that at least six or seven people died directly as a result of Escherichia coli 0157:H7 bacteria which tainted the town's water supply in May. Since then provincial police have been investigating the possibility that other deaths could be linked to that outbreak.

“Probably the fact that people don't often link E. coli to water, it's mostly considered a food borne illness, certainly did raise the level of interest in this bacteria,” said Margot Gedult of Health Canada in Ottawa. “On average, I don't believe that this is more of an unusual year--except for that town's situation--than any other year.” A series of recalls and reports of more infections in the past few weeks has also heightened E. coli awareness.

This week, four cases of E. coli contamination were reported in a hospital in Moncton in the east coast province of New Brunswick, according to Canadian media reports. Supermarket chain Safeway Canada on Sunday recalled 45,000 kilograms (99,000 pounds) of ground beef on fears it was contaminated with E. coli.

Safeway's announcement followed a move by the world's largest meat packing company, IBP Inc., which recalled more than 200 tonnes of ground beef from shelves in North America last week, fearing the meat was affected with the common bacteria found in the intestines of humans and animals.

In the northern territory of Nunavut 13 people fell ill after eating ground beef believed to have been contaminated with E. coli. “It's not like we have an epidemic or anything of the sort on our hands. It's the first recall of the year on E. coli,” said another official at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

After Walkerton, Canadians may be eyeing their water supply with suspicion, but too few are being as careful around their beef. The food safety agency maintains that E. coli outbreaks are fairly common in the summer as people roll out the barbecues and often dangerously undercook hamburgers.

The E. coli bacteria is usually found in the intestines of humans and animals. Some strains--like the often lethal 0157 variety that hit Walkerton-- can cause dangerous, even life-threatening infections.

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