Dallas County health officials are looking into a group of E. coli infections in children from around North Texas, and whether the sick children may have picked up the bacteria at the State Fair of Texas petting zoo.
Dallas County Health and Human Services told FOX 4 on Tuesday that it is lab-testing a "cluster" of cases involving Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. That type of the bacteria can make young children seriously ill. The department said it does not consider the cases an outbreak at this point and is still interviewing those involved.
County health director Dr. Philip Huang told CBS News Texas that physicians reported the possible cases to the county this week and pointed to a common thread among their patients: recent trips to the fair. Up to seven possible cases are under review, CBS reported, and some of the children have needed intensive care.
"We are still trying to follow up on that, because we haven't seen or received all of the lab reports," Huang said. Neither the infections nor any tie to the fair had been confirmed as of Tuesday night, and the cases include patients from outside Dallas County, according to CBS.
At least two families said in interviews with FOX 4 that their children are in Dallas hospitals, and Children's Medical Center Dallas said it has seen more E. coli cases than usual.
Mary McGonigle-Martin, vice president of the nonprofit Parker's Promise, which supports families whose children are hospitalized with infections like E. coli, said the families she is working with had visited the petting zoo before their children got sick. No deaths have been reported, KRLD reported.
The State Fair said in a statement that it had not received official notice of the reports but that it is ready to work with public health authorities. The fair said its animal exhibits follow precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while acknowledging that no measure removes every risk.