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the summer of e. coli: bacteria shows up on montreal beaches and u.s. wendy's lettuce

most cases of e. coli infection are mild and do not cause a serious health risk, but some strains can have life-threatening complications, like kidney failure and death.

by maija kappler
published aug 24, 2022
read time 3 minute read
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read time 3 minute read
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contaminated food is the most common way to get an e. coli infection
toronto ontario: july 20, 2022—health—toronto’s kew-balmy beach was closed to swimming due to a high e.coli count, wednesday july 20, 2022. [photo peter j. thompson/national post] [national post/tba for national post]
two montreal-area beaches closed due to e. coli earlier this month have re-opened, although fear of the bacteria remains a concern for many people trying to beat the heat with a beach visit. jean-doré beach on jean-drapeau park, just east of the island of montreal, re-opened on thursday after closing the previous day. meanwhile, the beach at cap-st-jacques nature park in the northwest suburb of pierrefonds-roxboro, which closed earlier this month, re-opened on aug. 12.
this is definitely not a problem unique to quebec: in july, six beaches closed due to the presence of e. coli in the windsor, ont. region alone. four beaches closed in vancouver around the same time, for the same reason.
the pathogen has also made 37 people sick in the u.s. — hospitalizing 10 — linked to the consumption of romaine lettuce contaminated with e. coli at wendy’s restaurants in michigan, ohio and pennsylvania. according to cbs news, a 2019 e. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce in 2019 made almost 200 people ill, with cow feces being blamed — the contaminated lettuce was grown downslope from where cattle grazed.

what is e. coli?

the bacteria — full name escherichia coli — isn’t dangerous in and of itself. humans and many animals have harmless e. coli strains in our body, which help us with digestion.

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but some strains can be dangerous. the feces of animals who have contracted these dangerous strains can get into the water in several ways — through agricultural runoff, for instance, or just through the presence of animals in their natural habitats. (geese and seagulls are frequent culprits.) that infected feces can infect the water, which then spreads to other waterways when there’s heavy rain, contaminating not only bodies of water, but also the water that’s used irrigate food crops. and if there’s e. coli present  there’s also a higher likelihood that other harmful bacteria exist as well, such as cryptosporidium, giardia, shigella, and norovirus.
people who swim in contaminated water can experience gastrointestinal illness and infections of the skin, ears, respiratory symptoms, and eyes. but the most common signs, according to nonprofit group the water project, are fever, stomach cramps, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting — these are the same symptoms experienced in the case of consuming food that’s infected with e. coli. health canada warns that in rare cases, e. coli can lead to serious conditions like seizures, kidney failure, or strokes.
as with many other illnesses, the people most vulnerable to serious illness from e. coli infection are young children, and people who are pregnant, elderly, or have compromised immune systems.
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how can i stay safe from e. coli?

if you are a beach-goer, the good news is that most beaches are tested weekly for e. coli, and public health authorities in many large canadian cities will update the public with their findings regularly. if you want to take extra precautions, the most significant step you can take, toronto public health advises, is to avoid swimming during or after storms, floods, or heavy rain. vancouver coastal health also suggests avoiding swimming with open cuts or wounds, which can get infected; avoiding murky, cloudy or turbid water; and avoiding swallowing beach water.
and while health canada notes that it can be difficult to avoid e. coli from contaminated food because it often looks and tastes normal, you can lower your risk by washing hands often and reporting unclean restaurants as well as incidences of food poisoning.
 
maija kappler is a reporter and editor at healthing. you can reach her at mkappler@postmedia.com
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