Our lawyers are investigating an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 linked to a traveling petting zoo, Zerebko Zoo Tran. To date, 13 people have been sickened. Of them, 5 attended the Rice County Fair in Faribault, MN (July 15-20, 2014), and 2 of the 13 were secondary infections from someone who attended the Rice County Fair.
Most of the people sickened were children. Three of them were hospitalized, and 2 of them developed a complication of an E. coli infection called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which causes kidney failure. One little one is still in the hospital fighting this life-threatening disease.
“Petting zoos have been the source of a number of E. coli outbreaks,” said Fred Pritzker, an E. coli lawyer who has offices in Minnesota. “Operators are responsible for making sure the animals are kept clean and that it is safe for children to touch the animals.”
Zerebko Zoo Tran had its petting zoo at the following events between July 4 and July 27, and there have been E. coli O157 illnesses associated with each event:
- Nashwauk 4th of July Festival (7/3-7/5): 1 case
- Polk County Fair (7/9-7/13): 1 case
- Rice County Fair (7/15-7/20): 7 cases (2 of them secondary cases)
- Olmsted County Fair (7/21-7/27): 3 cases
E. coli PFGE testing found the identical strain of E. coli O157:H7 in the 13 people sickened and in swabs of germs taken from Zerebko Zoo Tran animals and places where the animals have been.
Attorney Fred Pritzker recently won cases involving E. coli from contact with animals at fair petting zoos. In both of these cases, a child walked through a petting zoo and got sick a few days later. In each case, the child developed hemolytic uremic syndrome and suffered kidney failure and other serious health problems. In one case, the child died.
You can click here now to contact Fred and his team; there are no fees unless we win your case.