More E. coli cases tied to Rockwood school events

ST. LOUIS COUNTY (First Alert 4) — More than 90 cases of E. coli have been linked to a Rockwood Summit High School events.

As of 12:00 p.m. Monday, the St. Louis County Health Department said 94 cases have been identified. Some of those cases have been confirmed; others show compatible symptoms and links to confirmed cases.

Health authorities said the cases connected to the outbreak attended four separate events hosted or catered through Andre’s Banquet and Catering. More than half of the cases are connected with Rockwood Summit High School.

Austin Carnaghi spent two nights at Mercy Hospital St. Louis suffering from symptoms of E. coli. He’s a sophomore at Oakville High School in the Mehlville School District. He said he attended his own school’s band banquet at Andre’s Banquets and Catering a day before a Rockwood Summit High School band banquet at the business.

“The cramping was terrible, like I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t stay off the restroom for more than 5-10 minutes,” Carnaghi said.

The St. Louis County Health Department said the current information they have suggests that salad is the source of illness, but a specific ingredient has not been identified.

One lawsuit has been filed against the catering company on behalf of a cheerleader at Rockwood Summit High School. She’s being represented by Bill Marler at the Marler Clark law firm in Seattle. The law firm specializes in food safety cases.

“Whether you’re McDonald’s or a caterer in St. Louis, you have a responsibility to the consumer. Yes, you may have gotten a contaminated product but ultimately your responsibility is to not sicken your consumer,” said Marler.

The owner of Andre’s Banquets and Catering told First Alert 4 that the lawsuit has no merit. He said his vendors spot-check produce loads daily, are USDA-inspected and follow strict food safety guidelines. He also claimed that the fact that three students who aren’t Rockwood Summit High School students were infected is proof his business is not the source of the outbreak.

State and local health department workers were at the catering business on Monday to take samples of food for testing. Health department officials will also use genetic testing on stool samples to get more certainty on the outbreak.

Dr. Amanda Brzozowsky is the St. Louis Health Department’s senior epidemiologist and is leading the investigation.

“What the genetic links will let us do is really specifically connect people. But it will also help us connect cases to people outside of our area,” said Brzozowsky.

Tuesday, First Alert 4 learned another lawsuit was later filed.

Brzozowsky confirmed that an E. coli outbreak in 18 states that involves organic carrots is not linked to the local outbreak.

An investigation into the outbreak is ongoing; an electronic survey has been distributed to event attendees.

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