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Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/fd19643d3d374c5ca6dc12bc59369176/OR--Outbreak-Investigator
Oregon food safety sleuth praised as pioneer
By LYNNE TERRY The Oregonian
December 03, 2013 - 7:02 pm EST
PORTLAND, Oregon ? The first reports of illness trickled in, just as they always do, to the offices of William "Bill" Keene, Oregon's top food safety sleuth. The outbreak involved a potentially deadly strain of E. coli. Keene and his colleagues sprang into action, interviewing victims on the phone. What had they eaten? Where? When?
They quickly pinpointed local strawberries as the likely culprit. But in 2011, when the outbreak hit, no one had ever heard of strawberries carrying E. coli O157:H7. How could that happen?
Keene had a theory: contaminated deer droppings. So, he tromped through the strawberry fields in Yamhill County, collecting pellets. Turns out they were contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.
Keene was right, as usual.
A brilliant scientist, a man who mentored many and transformed the way food safety investigations are done nationwide, Keene is gone. He passed away Sunday afternoon after a two-week bout with acute pancreatitis caused by gallstones. He was only 56...
Oregon food safety sleuth praised as pioneer
By LYNNE TERRY The Oregonian
December 03, 2013 - 7:02 pm EST
PORTLAND, Oregon ? The first reports of illness trickled in, just as they always do, to the offices of William "Bill" Keene, Oregon's top food safety sleuth. The outbreak involved a potentially deadly strain of E. coli. Keene and his colleagues sprang into action, interviewing victims on the phone. What had they eaten? Where? When?
They quickly pinpointed local strawberries as the likely culprit. But in 2011, when the outbreak hit, no one had ever heard of strawberries carrying E. coli O157:H7. How could that happen?
Keene had a theory: contaminated deer droppings. So, he tromped through the strawberry fields in Yamhill County, collecting pellets. Turns out they were contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.
Keene was right, as usual.
A brilliant scientist, a man who mentored many and transformed the way food safety investigations are done nationwide, Keene is gone. He passed away Sunday afternoon after a two-week bout with acute pancreatitis caused by gallstones. He was only 56...