Coli Outbreak Linked to Celery

The onion and celery mix was included in Costco’s rotisserie chicken salad which was originally named in the outbreak.

The FDA urged for the recall of all other products containing celery from Taylor Farms out of “an abundance of caution”.

Earlier in the week, Costco took action on the reports of an E. coli outbreak caused by its rotisserie chicken salad by pulling the item off all of its store shelves.

Health workers are still trying to figure out which ingredient in the chicken salad was contaminated. Although most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, some people can develop a form of kidney failure called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS).

“We have five illnesses here in Utah of E. Coli 57h7”. The strain linked to the Mexican food chain was identified as E. coli 026, while the one tied to Costco is E. coli 157, which the CDC said is more likely to be harmful, especially in young children, said ABC News. That recall shows that even fully cooked chicken is vulnerable to bacteria, if workers inadvertently contaminate the cooked birds with juice from raw chickens, Marler said.

At least five of the 19 people who have fallen ill this month have been hospitalized.

The CDC said laboratory testing was still ongoing.

Tauxe said both investigations are ongoing and he hopes they will eventually find the exact cause of both outbreaks.

Symptoms of HUS usually set in on the eighth day of an E. coli infection.

Cars fill the parking lot of a Costco store, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015, in Seattle. The incubation period is three to seven days from the time of exposure.