Tom Harkin: “I just point out again that these outbreaks are growing with rapidity and showing up in the oddest of places. For…”

“I just point out again that these outbreaks are growing with rapidity and showing up in the oddest of places. For example, last month, dozens of children got sick--again, with this E. coli 0157H7--in Atlanta after swimming in a public pool. Many of these children spent time on dialysis for kidney failure. This was just last month. Now, the infection they got was the same strain of E. coli that came from a local ground beef recall in an outbreak in Atlanta 2 weeks earlier. So 2 weeks earlier, there was an outbreak of E. coli from a ground beef recall, and now it shows up in a swimming pool 2 weeks later. Children in five States were infected from this ultimately foodborne illness. So it started out as a foodborne illness and then it got into a swimming pool. Dozens of kids got sick and some spent time on kidney dialysis. So that is how virulent some of these strains have become. Not only do they show up in the food, they are so virulent that not even the chlorine in the swimming pool could kill it. Again, Mr. President, I think this amendment deserves widespread support.”