Morning Briefing Nov. 16, 2021: E. coli outbreak linked to baby spinach with 1 case in Michigan

Here are this morning’s top stories

Bowl of spinach. (Photo by Rodolfo Quirós from Pexels)

E. coli outbreak linked to baby spinach

The CDC has issued an alert about a growing E. coli outbreak linked to baby spinach, with at least one case reported in Michigan.

Here’s the info from the CDC:

Josie’s Organics Baby Spinach

  • Sold at stores nationwide
  • “Best by” date of October 23, 2021
  • Sold in plastic clamshell containers

Minnesota officials found E. coli O157:H7 in a package of leftover Josie’s Organics baby spinach collected from a sick person’s home. Five people in this outbreak reported eating spinach in the week before they got sick and 1 reported Josie’s Organics brand. Cases have been reported in seven states, including Michigan.

Investigators are working to determine if additional products may be contaminated.

Read more here.


University of Michigan flu surge

A team of investigators is headed to Ann Arbor to analyze the spread of the flu following a major flu surge on campus.

Emily Martin is an associate professor of epidemiology. She said because very few people got the flu last year there is less data to analyze.

“I think we have a complicated puzzle to solve this year,” Martin said.

As cases climb, researchers are looking at the strains that are circulating and gauging the effectiveness of this year’s flu vaccine.

Read more here.


💰Michigan Lottery: Winning $1.15M Lotto 47 ticket sold in Detroit


Danny Fenster returns to America

Danny Fenster spoke briefly Tuesday morning at a news conference with the former U.S. diplomat who helped free him from detention in Myanmar.

Bill Richardson, a former U.S. diplomat, helped negotiate Myanmar’s release of Fenster over the weekend. Fenster joined him and other officials at the news conference Tuesday morning in New York -- watch Fenster’s comments here.


Weather forecast: Tuesday trending cool, warmer Wednesday


COVID in Michigan 🦠

Michigan reported 21,034 new cases of COVID-19 and 95 virus-related deaths Monday -- an average of 7,011.3 cases over the past three days.

Monday’s update brings the total number of confirmed COVID cases in Michigan to 1,209,712, including 22,862 deaths. These numbers are up from 1,188,678 cases and 22,767 deaths, as of Friday.

Read the latest COVID report here.