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# Nine E. coli Illnesses Linked to Animals at Minnesota County Fair
- URL: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2014/08/minnesota-county-fair-linked-to-9-e-coli-illnesses/
- Published: 2014-08-05T04:36:17.000Z
- Updated: 2018-07-31T02:58:20.000Z
- Author: News Desk
- Tags: Foodborne Illness Investigations, Foodborne Illness Outbreaks, E. coli, Minnesota, outbreak, Rice County Fair, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-11-25 08:58

[![](http://foodsafetynewsfullservice.marlersites.com/files/2014/08/ChildPettingGoatMain.jpg "ChildPettingGoatMain")](http://foodsafetynewsfullservice.marlersites.com/files/2014/08/ChildPettingGoatMain-1.jpg?ref=foodsafetynews.com)

At least nine people have fallen ill with E. coli infections after attending the Rice County Fair in Rice County, MN, according to the [Faribault Daily News](http://www.southernminn.com/mobile/faribault%5Fdaily%5Fnews/article%5F92bbd630-885e-5a59-af83-5a159c1223a6.html?ref=foodsafetynews.com). Speaking to the Daily News, the fair manager said that five people have been hospitalized. The manager also said that the E. coli originated from an animal and not a food item. Investigators suspect it came from either the fair’s barn or the petting zoo. The fair had hand-washing stations available outside the petting zoo and barns, but not all visitors used them. A number of disease outbreaks have been [linked to petting zoos](https://www.foodsafetynews.com/the-petting-zoo-problem/) in recent years. In 2012, the petting zoo at a county fair in North Carolina was linked to an E. coli outbreak that sickened 106 people and ended in the death of a 2-year-old boy. Parents are advised to carefully monitor their children when petting farm animals. Children should immediately wash their hands after visiting a petting zoo and should not be given the opportunity to put their hands or fingers in their mouths after touching animals.