Dallas County health officials are lab testing a cluster of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli cases and trying to determine whether the infections trace back to a petting zoo at the State Fair of Texas. At least two parents say their children are currently hospitalized in Dallas with the bacteria, and Children's Medical Center Dallas has reported an uptick in cases.
Dallas County Health and Human Services confirmed to FOX 4 that it is lab testing the cluster and investigating whether the cases came from a petting zoo at the fair. The department says the cases involve children of various ages and is interviewing parties connected to the illnesses, though it has not classified the situation as an outbreak.
Families Describe Hospital Stays While Testing Continues
At least two parents told the station their children are hospitalized in Dallas with E. coli, and Children's Medical Center Dallas separately reported seeing more cases of the bacteria than usual. E. coli symptoms typically begin with bloody stools and vomiting, according to the same report, and people can contract the bacteria orally through contaminated food, water, or infected animals.
The State Fair of Texas said it has not received official notification of the reports and has no verified information establishing the cause of any reported illness. Fair organizers said their animal exhibits already follow health and safety precautions recommended by the CDC, adding that no precaution can eliminate every risk. The fair said it will work with public health authorities to understand the circumstances of any infection and will share further information once it is verified and appropriate.
A Dallas Mother's 45-Day Ordeal Still Echoes
The investigation has revived attention on seven-year-old Lily Rogers, who was hospitalized for 45 days in April 2025 after contracting the Shiga toxin strain of E. coli from a petting zoo, per the same FOX 4 report. Lily developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a complication that caused her kidneys to fail and required part of her colon to be removed. The station notes that Lily's 2025 illness is not connected to the current cluster being investigated.
Her mother, Stephanie Rogers, told FOX 4 she knows the nightmare and the hospital hallways all too well. She said her daughter's kidneys still function at only 36 percent and that Lily remains on several medications as a result of the infection.
Why Hand Contact With Animals Carries Risk
Carla Garcia Carreno, medical director for infections prevention and control at Children's Health Plano, said children may be less careful than adults about hand-to-mouth contact and handwashing, according to the same report. Federal guidance backs up that concern: a 2011 CDC compendium found that, beyond direct animal contact, manure exposure and hand-to-mouth behavior were risk factors at petting zoos, and that falling or sitting on the ground was linked to illness, per the CDC. Texas health officials note that the toxin-producing strain can, in rare cases, lead to hemolytic-uremic syndrome and damage the kidneys and blood, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
State fairs elsewhere have grappled with similar clusters tied to livestock exhibits. A CDC investigation into a 2011 North Carolina State Fair outbreak found that visiting a livestock housing structure was the only exposure tied to illness, and the same report referenced a 2004 petting-zoo outbreak at that fair that sickened 187 people, 15 of whom developed HUS.
Comparable Cases From Illinois to Arizona
Outside Texas, the Will County Health Department said up to five E. coli cases may be linked to visits to Bengtson's Pumpkin Farm in Homer Glen, Illinois, with exposures reported after September 29, according to ABC7 Chicago. That outlet reported the five confirmed cases ranged in age from 4 to 38, and that the farm's owner said workers were cleaning and sanitizing while the farm stayed open and health officials planned to collect samples.
In Arizona, a 2025 outbreak tied to the state fair's petting zoo hospitalized 13 children, prompting organizers to eliminate the petting zoo entirely for 2026, according to azcentral.com. Fair officials there said guests would instead observe farm animals from a distance, and added new precautions including a ban on strollers and wagons inside barns along with encouragement to wash hands. Parents in that case had reported their children became infected with E. coli after interacting with animals at the petting zoo, per Food Safety News.
For now, Dallas County Health and Human Services continues interviewing families and awaiting lab results as it works to determine whether the State Fair of Texas petting zoo is connected to the current cluster of cases.
