Amy Ehrnreiter
Courier Staff Writer
Patrick Phillips, 5, died June 13 from a severe bacterial diasease called shigella.
He loved Spiderman and wanted to be a superhero. A foundation established in his memory may help carry on Patrickís ambitions.
Five-year-old Patrick Phillips loved Spiderman and wanted to be a superhero. He wanted to help people. With the Patrickís Song Foundation, he will.
Barney Phillips of Bedford, Ky., plans to set up the foundation in memory of his son, Patrick, who died June 13 of the disease shigella.Continue Reading Patrickís Song Foundation will remember young ësuperheroí

Issue # 95 – September/October 1985
Breeding an Epidemic
Antibiotics and Meat
Nowadays, it’s so simple and inexpensive to take an oral dose of tetracycline or amoxicillin to fight off an infection that most of us take antibiotics for granted. The time may be rapidly approaching, however, when we’ll have to learn what it’s like to do without these drugs . . . in large part because of the way American agribusiness raises meat!Continue Reading Modern agriculture is rushing us into an unintended but dangerous form of genetic engineering.

William D. Marler (www.williammarler.com), an attorney at Marler Clark LLP PS (http://www.marlerclark.com) has extensive experience representing victims of bacterial and viral food poisonings. Since 1993, Marler Clark has represented victims of most of the largest foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, including the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli, 1998 Odwalla E. coli,…

From the CDC
What is shigellosis?
Shigellosis is an infectious disease caused by a group of bacteria called Shigella. Most who are infected with Shigella develop diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps starting a day or two after they are exposed to the bacterium. The diarrhea is often bloody. Shigellosis usually resolves in 5 to 7 days. In some persons, especially young children and the elderly, the diarrhea can be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. A severe infection with high fever may also be associated with seizures in children less than 2 years old. Some persons who are infected may have no symptoms at all, but may still pass the Shigella bacteria to others.Continue Reading Shigellosis

By Carole Sugarman
My daughter never met a chicken tender she didn’t like. But during a recent family vacation in Florida, 9-year-old Anna was struck with a bad case of salmonellosis — disease caused by salmonella. And while we’ll never know for sure, we strongly suspect it was caused by contaminated, undercooked poultry at one of her daily restaurant chicken meals.
There is more than a little irony in this tale of excruciating stomach pains, bathroom vigils and hospital emergency rooms.
As a food writer for 25 years, I’ve interviewed numerous victims of food-borne diseases and parents of children who’ve died from them. I’ve attended scores of conferences and hearings where food safety issues are debated among government officials, industry and activist groups.
But this was the first time I got to see firsthand how devastating full-blown food-borne illness can be. Believe me, we’re not talking about a bad tummy ache.Continue Reading A Taste of Food Poisoning