PERRY, Ga. — The Georgia Department of Public Health and North Central Health District are investigating if E. coli was spread at the Georgia National Fair earlier this month.
Department spokesman Michael Hokanson told 13WMAZ they've confirmed four cases among children who were at the event in Perry from Oct. 7-17.
Three of them are now hospitalized. Those children live in counties around the state.
Hokanson says they have not reported any deaths so far.
E. coli is a bacteria that can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, and even kidney damage in some severe cases. It can be passed in several ways, like eating raw vegetables and undercooked ground beef.
It can also be spread person-to-person on unwashed hands and surfaces, or by touching animals at petting zoos.
Hokanson says they've put together a public questionnaire that may help them pinpoint the cause of the problem.
Anyone that went to the fair can fill that out here. They say you can fill it out even if you did NOT get sick.
Reporter Caleesha Moore will have the latest on this story on 13WMAZ News at 5 and 6.
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