Marler Clark has been retained by the family of a child who became ill after visiting Bengtson’s Pumpkin Farm in Homer Glen, Illinois, and whose stool culture was positive for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). We have put the farm on notice of the claim. We have also sent Illinois Freedom of Information Act requests to the Village of Homer Glen, the Will County Health Department and the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Here is where the public record stands four days after the county’s November 10 findings release, and where it stops.
What we know
- Seven laboratory-confirmed STEC infections are linked to the farm, up from the five the county announced on October 23.
- Another 159 people are probable cases. They visited the farm and had specific symptoms for a set length of time, but have no laboratory confirmation. They come from 270 responses to the county’s confidential health survey. The Herald-News reports that the respondents visited between September 29 and October 23.
- Whole genome sequencing found the bacteria from sick people closely related to each other and to bacteria from one baby goat in the petting zoo. Several animals tested positive for STEC. Only the baby goat’s bacteria were a close match. The Herald-News reports the animal samples went to a laboratory in Minnesota.
- Four of the first five patients were hospitalized, as I wrote on October 27 from the county’s statements at the time.
- The county reviewed the farm’s food service operations and found no concerns.
- Signs at the petting zoo entrance and exit told visitors to wash their hands, not to eat around the animals, and to leave strollers and wagons outside. Handwashing stations stood at the exit.
- The farm closed the petting zoo voluntarily when the county first called. The rest of the farm stayed open until its season ended on November 8.
- The county and the state health department say they will keep watching for new cases in the coming weeks.
What we do not know
- Which STEC this is. The county has not said whether it is E. coli O157:H7 or another serotype, or which Shiga toxin it carries. Both bear on the risk of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), the kidney complication that strikes young children hardest.
- How many of the seven are culture-confirmed. The release says laboratory-confirmed and goes no further. A PCR panel can detect Shiga toxin genes without yielding an isolate, and sequencing needs an isolate. How many patient isolates were sequenced, and did every one match the goat?
- How many people were hospitalized in all, and how many developed HUS. The county has given no figure since October 26.
- The ages, visit dates and onset dates of the confirmed and probable cases. No epidemic curve has been published.
- The case definition itself: which symptoms, and for how long.
- Whether any of the 159 probable cases were offered testing.
- How many animals were sampled, how many were positive, of which species, and what the samples from other areas of the farm showed.
- Where the baby goat came from, how old it was, when it joined the petting zoo, whether visitors could hold or feed it, and where the animals are now.
- Whether anyone caught the infection secondhand, from a sick family member and not from the farm.
- Whether the county will publish a final report.
What the records should tell us
Public records requests are how questions like these get answered. An outbreak file typically holds the line list of cases, the laboratory reports, the sequencing comparison, the survey form, the inspection notes and the correspondence with the operator. Patient names are redacted, as they should be. When the records arrive, I will write about what they show.
The signs and the sinks were there, and 166 people still got sick
That is no argument against handwashing. It is an argument that handwashing alone will not carry the load. The Compendium of Measures to Prevent Disease Associated with Animals in Public Settings, which state public health veterinarians and CDC have published since 2005 and last updated in 2023, treats handwashing as one layer among several. It also addresses how animals are selected and cared for, and what operators, staff and volunteers should do.
The Herald-News reports that Illinois has no state agency and no rules overseeing petting zoos. North Carolina wrote its rules after the 2004 State Fair outbreak, in a statute named Aedin’s Law for one of the children sickened there. Will County says it will work with Bengtson’s and other petting zoo operators on visitor education. Education is a start. A written standard that operators must meet before opening day would be better, and the Compendium already supplies most of the text.
If your family visited
Symptoms begin one to ten days after exposure, most often in three to four. Anyone with bloody diarrhea, signs of dehydration or other severe symptoms needs prompt medical care, and it is fair to ask the doctor for a stool culture. The Will County Health Department can be reached at 815-727-8480. There is more on petting zoo outbreaks at fair-safety.com and on HUS at about-hus.com.
Questions and answers
How many people are sick in the Bengtson’s Pumpkin Farm E. coli outbreak? Seven laboratory-confirmed and 159 probable cases, according to the Will County Health Department’s release of November 10, 2026.
What was the source? Whole genome sequencing closely matched bacteria from sick visitors to bacteria from one baby goat in the farm’s petting zoo.
What kind of E. coli is it? Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. The county has not released the serotype.
Is the farm open? No. The season ended on November 8, 2026.
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