Why A Minnesota City Is Also The Name Of Powerful Diarrhea

Wherever you travel, you will find interesting names of things, and those names often represent a location, impactful people in the area, or events that took place.

Minnesota is no exception, the state's name is inspired by its rich Native American history. 'Minnesota' comes from the Dakota phrase "Mni Sota Makoce", which means "land where the waters reflect the clouds".  

Minnesota has also inspired the names of things outside of the state. For example, ships have been named after the state: The USS Minnesota (BB 22), a battleship commissioned in 1907 that was part of the Great White Fleet, and the USS Minnesota (SSN 783), a Virginia-class submarine commissioned in 2012.

Of course, having something named after you isn't ideal and there is one Minnesota city well aware of that fact. This is because over 40 years ago, a powerful diarrhea outbreak occurred there, and now this type of diarrhea bears the city's name.

A Powerful Diarrhea Outbreak Strikes In Minnesota

It was 1983 when people in Brainerd, Minnesota began reporting a nasty and seemingly incurable type of diarrhea. According to the Pine Journal, it wasn't just a few people, it was dozens of people initially and it was serious.

The symptoms were awful, with people having up to 20 explosive, watery stools a day. Victims also suffered from abdominal cramping, gas, fatigue, and weight loss and all this was going on for months and showed no signs of stopping.

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Baffled Brainerd physicians had to transfer victims to other hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic, and the number of cases in the area continued to grow.

Ultimately, the number of patients would grow to 122 patients, with over half seeking medical attention and 18 requiring hospitalization. It would take some patients up to 550 days to fully recover. Thankfully, no deaths were reported.

Dr. Michael Osterholm, then a Minnesota Department of Health epidemiologist, was tasked with figuring out where what was causing this, how to stop it, and how to prevent it from happening again.

Osterholm and his team interviewed patients, gathering their medical history, stool samples, and food and drinking histories, which would reveal crucial information.

The Mystery Behind The Cause Of 'Brainerd Diarrhea'

By now, the outbreak had earned the name 'Brainerd Diarrhea' and through his investigation, Dr. Osterholm discovered a common denominator for many of the victims in that they had drunk raw, unpasteurized milk from a local dairy.

The CDC notes that unpasteurized milk has not been treated with heat to kill harmful bacteria, so it can contain bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria, which can cause serious food poisoning.

The local dairy in question had been selling unpasteurized milk for years, which is perfectly legal, with no previous incidents such as this reported.

However, something was different with this milk now. Dr. Osterholm theorized that a previously unknown germ was now in the milk, which led to the outbreak. On July 12, 1984, the local dairy agreed to stop selling raw milk to stop the outbreak.

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So, while there is an overall theory of what likely caused the initial 'Brainerd Diarrhea outbreak, there is still the mystery of pinning down the exact microscopic organism that was the culprit and where else it could be found. Health experts believe the mystery germ can exist in other things, such as untreated water.

However, the exact cause remains a medical mystery.

'Brainerd Diarrhea' Lives On

Since this outbreak made national headlines and happened to take place in Brainerd, Minnesota, that name lives on and cases continue to be reported throughout the world, including:

• Galapagos Islands: In 1992, an outbreak occurred on a cruise ship visiting the Galapagos Islands.
• Fannin County, Texas: In 1996, an outbreak of 117 patients occurred in Fannin County, Texas.
• Humboldt County, California: In 1999, an outbreak of 13 patients occurred in Humboldt County, California.

The CDC and other medical professionals state that Brainerd Diarrhea is a syndrome of chronic diarrhea with symptoms that include:

• 10–20 explosive watery stools per day
• Fecal incontinence
• Abdominal cramping
• Gas
• Fatigue
• Weight loss
• Urgency to defecate
• Bloating
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Fever

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Unfortunately, there is no known cure for Brainerd diarrhea, but it does eventually resolve on its own.