My home town of Locust Grove is currently in crisis due to Sunday’s death of Pryor resident Chad Ingle and the severe illnesses of approximately forty other individuals in recent days. The Oklahoma Department of Health suspects but has not confirmed an E. coli outbreak. In its latest public advisory, the state Health Department confirmed that a majority of the affected individuals ate at the Country Cottage, a popular Locust Grove restaurant.

According to Locust Grove Mayor Shawn Bates, the town of Locust Grove voluntarily tested its water supply on Monday. The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality is also conducting extensive testing of the town’s water. No test results are yet available.

A total of 13 children and 23 adults are currently hospitaliized at Tulsa’s St. Francis Hospital with an additional four adults at St. Francis Hospital South. Four children are in the Pediatric ICU, three of whom are suffering from kidney failure and are on dialysis, according to Dr. William Banner, pediatric intensivist at the Children’s Hospital at St. Francis. Two more children were sent to an Oklahoma City pediatric intensive care unit.

Source: The Tulsa World.