In early August 2006, public health officials in Weber County, Utah, became aware of several people who attended a teachers’ conference luncheon and had contracted E. coli O121:H19 infections.
On August 2, 2006, the Weber-Morgan Health Department issued a News Release indicating that three people had been infected with E. coli O121:H19, and that two of the individuals had developed HUS. WMHD stated that the evidence indicated that all three people contracted E. coli from the same source sometime during June 27-30 at a restaurant in the Ogden, Utah area. By August 7, WMHD officials had revised the number of outbreak victims to four, including three who had developed HUS.
WMHD concluded that the source of the infection was contaminated iceberg lettuce prepared at a Wendy’s Restaurant in North Ogden, Utah.
Eventually, WMHD determined that at least 69 people had become ill in the outbreak. Of those, four remained hospitalized and were in serious condition.