Two-year-old child dies from E. coli after trip to North Carolina county fair

Charlotte, NC, United States (4E) – The number of E.coli cases connected with the Cleveland County Fair in North Carolina has climbed to 38, including a two-year-old boy who died last Friday.

Health authorities reported that Gage Lafevers of Bessemer City died after going to the fair and contacting E.coli, meanwhile his mother, who did not visit the fair, became sick while taking care of him.

Eight people had been hospitalized for showing signs of E.coli infection, 22 of the reported cases are children.

Officials confirmed that E.coli outbreak continued to rise across the state and has already spread from Cleveland County into Catawba, Gaston, Lincoln and Union counties in North Carolina. There is also one recorded case each at York and Cherokee counties in South Carolina.

Cleveland County’s Health Director, Dorothea Wyant, stated that “it’s frustrating and it’s confusing because you want answers and you want quick answers so can stop it and tell what it is”.

Calvin Hastings, Cleveland County Fair Manager, said that there is not much to say until things are definitely connected.

The fair, which ended in October 7, welcomed more than 165,000 visitors.

Health officials have talked to around 75 people who were at the fair but they cannot confirm the probable source of infection.

An E.coli outbreak that occurred last year at the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh, which infected 27 people, was traced to a building that housed animals.

The symptoms of E.coli infection include diarrhea, nausea, dehydration, vomiting, fever and in some cases, death.