Wednesday October 2, 2013 www.saobserver.net $1.25 GST InCLUDED
Death raises questions for family E. coli infection: Husband, son call for quicker release of information.
By Martha Wickett OBSERVER STAFF
Six weeks after his mother was rushed to hospital and three weeks after she died, Dick Vander Linde learned that his mother’s illness was caused by an E. coli infection. Corry Vander Linde, 82, of Vernon, was admitted to hospital July 29 after experiencing abdominal pain and internal bleeding. She died Aug. 16. On Sept. 13, Dick and his father John were informed that Corry had been suffering from an E. coli 0157:H7 infection linked to Gort’s Gouda Cheese Farm in Salmon Arm. Throughout this time, a wheel of cheese purchased at Gort’s remained in John’s fridge, being consumed regularly. Dick tells his story because he would like to see improvements to the system, with information being provided sooner. “My dad’s fridge would have been cleaned out earlier – we didn’t find out about the E. coli word until Sept. 13. That stretch of time is an incredibly long stretch of time,” he says. “As far as the system goes, the system isn’t working. I think the public deserves a better way of being looked after.” He emphasizes that the physician and nurses taking care of his mother did a fantastic job; he has no complaint with them. “It’s really the procedures and protocols… I shudder to think of my dad eating that cheese six weeks after my mom went into hospital.” Another upset for him regarding health agencies was an official statement he heard, which noted that 11 people were infected with E. coli-related illness linked to the cheese and one elderly person had passed away – but had underlying conditions. “It kind of sounds like, she was 82 and had to die anyway. This wasn’t my experience… This lady was in very robust health. This wasn’t a person half a year from passing away,” he emphasizes. Corry had three children, 28 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren. Dick says his mom suffered from rheumatoid arthritis which limited her mobility,
Lisa VandErVELdE/BLACk PRESS
Loss: Dick Vander Linde holds a photograph of his mother Corry, a Vernon resident who died in hospital after contracting an E. coli infection linked to the consumption of cheese from Gort’s Gouda Cheese Farm. The family was not alerted by health officials to the potentially contaminated product until six weeks after Corry’s hospitalization. but she had no problems connected to the illness. He explains that both his mom and dad were sick for about a week before he received a call from his dad at 3 a.m. July 29. They had first eaten the cheese about a week earlier. Until July 29 his mom seemed to have been recovering from what he thought was a flu of some sort, although she continued to complain about pain in her stomach and side. In hospital it soon became obvious how serious her condition was, he said, with doctors eventually saying a slim hope was to remove her colon. Although she lived through the surgery, the infection continued unabated. See Family on page A2
This week A uniquely designed garbage bin will face the scrutiny of the CBC’s Dragons’ Den. See A13. Kids test their mettle in swimming, biking and running at the annual Try-A-Tri. See A15.
Why the delay in notification? By Barb Brouwer OBSERVER STAFF
The fact there were no ‘clusters’ of E. coli cases reported meant the public was not informed earlier of the health hazard. The E. coli-related illness was first reported in July, with the majority occurring at the end of August and beginning of September. “Three are IH residents and one of the three is the person who died,” said
Dr. Rob Parker, medical health officer for Interior Health, on Sept. 17. “The IH resident who died had consumed Gort’s cheese and had a lab-confirmed case of E. coli 0157:H7, and that particular bacteria was a ‘finger-print match’ (with the other cases).” The health authority stated that when the onset occurred in July, it was a cause for concern but, as an isolated case, did not ring alarm bells. The province gets a number of
E. coli cases throughout the year and, while they try to identify the source, people are sometimes unable to pinpoint the cause of the illness. It takes anywhere from two to four weeks from the time a person gets ill to get the bacteria fingerprinting done and matched. In terms of the outbreak linked to Gort’s, health officials saw a cluster developing only the week of See E coli on page A2
Index Opinion ....................... A6 View Point .................. A7 Life & Times ............... A8 Time Out................... A10 Sports................A15-A19 Arts & Events ... A20-A22 Vol. 106, No. 40, 40 pages