Oklahoma Water Wells Test Positive for E. Coli

More than a dozen private water wells in Oklahoma have tested positive for E. coli, the life-threatening bacteria which recently killed a resident of a nearby town, state officials said.

So far, 17 wells located on private property have produced water containing the common food-borne bacteria. State environmental quality officials have not identified the E. coli strain found in the wells or confirmed if it is the same strain responsible for a deadly outbreak in 2008.

Last summer, E. coli contamination was blamed for sickening hundreds of people and killing one man in the town of Locust Grove, near where the water wells tests have been conducted. A popular local restaurant where many townsfolk ate was linked to that deadly outbreak, possibly by serving chicken raised on local poultry ranches where contaminated water was used.

E. Coli: Common Form of Food Poisoning

Escherichia coli, commonly abbreviated as E. coli, are a group of bacteria that can cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illness, pneumonia, and other diseases in people who consume food or drink water contaminated by the bacteria. While some strains of E. coli are harmless and in fact necessary in the intestines to aid digestion, other types can cause severe, deadly injuries. About 75,000 cases of E. coli infection and 61 deaths are reported in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The bacteria is most often are passed to people who eat raw meat and unwashed vegetables that have been contaminated by the bacteria. Unsanitary conditions at ranches were cattle are raised and slaughtered and on farms where vegetables are fertilized with manure from contaminated cattle are most often to blame for E. coli contamination.

Symptoms of E. coli contamination include vomiting, severe abdominal pain, and diarrhea, often with blood in it.

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