As many as 120 people who attended a gathering at Camp Yamhill between May 17 and 29 may be at risk of E. coli infection, according to Mel Kohn, M.D., state epidemiologist in the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS).
A cluster of illnesses amongst young teens who visited the Christian camp in northwest Yamhill County, Oregon, has prompted DHS and six county health departments to actively investigate the outbreak.
A boil order was recently lifted on Friday in Woodburn, Oregon, after E. coli was discovered in the public drinking water supply there.
On average, 117 E.coli O157:H7 cases are reported annually in Oregon. Symptoms include bloody diarrhea and cramps. About 5 percent of cases develop kidney problems that lead to kidney failure and death. Common ways of acquiring the infection include eating undercooked ground beef, touching infected animals, drinking unpasteurized milk, juice or contaminated water, swimming in contaminated water and contracting the illness from another person.
Frequent handwashing, especially after using the toilet, can prevent spreading the disease.
The camp has voluntarily closed until the source of the illness is identified.
