Colorado Toddler Given Odwalla Juice `For Health Reasons' -- 16- Month-Old Died Yesterday Of E. Coli Complications

DENVER - The mother of a 16-month-old girl who died yesterday of E. coli complications said she gave her daughter Odwalla apple juice for health reasons. It is the same juice that has been linked to nearly 50 confirmed cases in the outbreak in the West.

Earlier this week, Christy Gimmestad said she began giving her daughter, Anna, the Odwalla juices because they were natural and supposedly contained more vitamins and nutrients than pasteurized juices.

When the girl developed bloody diarrhea, her mother took her to North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley. She was transferred to Children's Hospital in Denver two days later.

Yesterday morning, Anna became the first fatality among more than four dozen victims in Colorado, Washington, California and British Columbia who contracted E. coli O157:H7.

Twenty-three cases of the disease have been reported in Washington state: 14 in King County, three in Snohomish County, two in Clark County and one each in Island, Skagit, Thurston and Whatcom. All but one of the patients drank Odwalla apple-juice products, health officials say. Fifteen of the cases are children.

Anna died after going into cardiac and respiratory arrest, said hospital spokeswoman Jenny Kolquist. She had suffered severe kidney problems, and her heart stopped several times in the days leading to her death.

Although the E. coli infection has not been confirmed by laboratory tests, health officials strongly think she was infected with the bacteria. Anna, the daughter of Chad and Christy Gimmestad of Evans, had consumed an Odwalla product that was later recalled.

"We believe that this child's illness, which was called hemolytic uremic syndrome, was related to consumption of an Odwalla apple-juice product," said Dr. Richard Hoffman, Colorado state epidemiologist. "But the cause of the illness has not yet been confirmed in the laboratory as E. coli 0157:H7 infection."

Hemolytic uremic syndrome is a known complication of E. coli 0157:H7, Hoffman said. "Therefore, this child was counted as a confirmed case of illness associated with consumption of an Odwalla product," he said.

Hoffman said a blood sample has been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for testing.

Odwalla Chairman Greg Steltenpohl said yesterday in a statement that he and other employees were "deeply saddened and sorry" about the death.

"Our hearts go out to the family, and our primary concern at this moment is to see that we are doing everything we can to help them," he said.

The company has offered to pay medical costs for people sickened by E. coli if it is proved a company product caused the illness.

Odwalla faces two lawsuits over the E. coli outbreak - one filed in Seattle on behalf of a 6-year-old boy who became ill after drinking apple juice, and the other by a lawyer in San Francisco claiming to represent the public under a California law allowing "private attorney general" lawsuits.