Robin Cook "Toxin"

Author: Robin Cook First edition: 1997 Original title: Toxin Medical topic: E. coli O157:H7 toxin Description: Health is the fundamental prerequisite for the pursuit of happiness, and clean water and uncontaminated food are the minimum requirements for health. People have been fighting for the former since the first cities were founded. When it comes to food, the situation is the opposite—we are falling further and further behind due to the constant drive to lower production costs. This has led to the emergence of new, dangerous forms of infection and threatens to create even more. This novel addresses that problem. In the prologue, we meet the 3-U crew—people who deal in the collection of “dead, fallen, and disabled animals.” They buy a sick cow from a local farmer and sell it to a slaughterhouse. The cow is added as the last item to that day’s batch—designated for boneless beef only—meaning only its head will be processed; the cheeks and tongue will be used to produce hamburger meat, while the rest will be used to make feed for cows. The meat goes to Mercer Meats and then to the chain restaurant Onion Rings. There, one piece lands incorrectly in the pan—for most of the frying process, it lies on top of other pieces, so by the time it’s served, it’s half-raw. It ends up in a hamburger, which is served to the daughter of a well-known heart surgeon—Kim Regiss. Soon the girl ends up in the emergency room—for now, only with diarrhea and stomach pain. The next day, her parents bring her back to the hospital—this time the situation is far more serious—she is diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome caused by Escherichia coli. In the following pages of the book, we follow the parents’ struggle to save their child: against the disease, against bureaucracy (here, another chapter in Robin Cook’s crusade against AmeriCare), and finally against the powerful meat industry lobby, which wants to cover up the entire affair. A very well-written book with an ending that is quite unusual for this author. "I dedicate this book to the families who have suffered from illnesses caused by Escherichia coli O157:H7 and other foodborne illnesses." Robin Cook