Number of people in latest E. coli outbreak expected to grow

The number of infected people is expected to grow in the coming weeks, even though the product was pulled from Costco stores.

The spread of foodborne illness takes time to track, especially when it’s happening in multiple states, said Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases.

Another recent food borne illness due to E. coli is linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., ranging from the Pacific Northwest other states, the CDC said on Friday. Five (29%) people reported being hospitalized, and two people developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a type of kidney failure.

The CDC and state health officials were investigating and have not yet determined what ingredient in the rotisserie chicken salad made and sold in Costco Wholesale stores could be the source of the outbreak.

“Costco has always been a leader in food safety at retail, it just goes to show you how important controlling your supply chain is”, Marler said.

In addition to their statement, they also advised customers who bought the chicken salad from any Costco outlets in the US on or before November 20 to discard it.

Six people have become ill in Montana, five in Utah, four in Colorado and one each in California, Missouri, Virginia and Washington state. DNA “fingerprinting” is performed on E. coli bacteria isolated from ill people by using a technique called pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, or PFGE. The CDC has been told they are all getting better, Tauxe said. This isn’t the first time Costco has found itself in the middle of a food contamination scandal, reported Reuters.

Bill Marler, a Seattle food safety attorney who represents people sickened by tainted food declared that the current number of HUS cases is twice what is normally seen with E. coli 157, the pathogen identified in the outbreak. Chipotle voluntarily closed 43 restaurants in Washington and OR after that outbreak. “No deaths have been reported”, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report.

Among people for whom information is available, illnesses started on dates ranging from October 6, 2015 to November 3, 2015.

The strain of bacteria that has caused the infections is E.Coli 0157:H7.