According to the Oregon Health Authority, people in Clackamas and Washington counties in Oregon, and Clark, King, Skagit and Cowlitz counties in Washington have reported symptoms of an E. coli infection..
While no deaths have been reported during this outbreak, eight people have been hospitalized. ABC News is reporting that in a statement, the Washington Department of health said: “While the outbreak appears to be linked to food served at Chipotle restaurants, the food or other source of contamination hasn’t yet been determined and remains under investigation.”
As Food Safety News is reporting, Saturday morning, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. spokesman said: “After being notified by health department officials in the Seattle and Portland areas that they were investigating approximately 20 cases of E. coli, including people who ate at six of our restaurants in those areas, we immediately closed all of our restaurants in the area out of an abundance of caution, even though the vast majority of these restaurants have no reported problems. We are working with health department officials to determine the cause of this issue. We offer our deepest sympathies to those who have been affected by this situation.”
There are hundreds of E. coli and other bacterial strains in the human intestines, and most of them are harmless to our health. However, the culprit in this foodborne outbreak is particularly nasty. It appears to be a Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli bacteria, according to Dr. Scott Lindquist, the Washington state epidemiologist.
Dr. Lindquist cautions that further investigation is ongoing before the particular strain can be identified. “I’m concerned that this could be a serious outbreak,” he said.
Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) can cause serious illness in humans. E. coli O157:H7 is the most common type of STEC, but other serotypes exist. Even though humans can become infected with STEC after consuming food or drinks contaminated with bacteria, the most common cause of STEC infections is undercooked or contaminated ground beef.
Symptoms of a STEC infection usually appear from two to eight days after exposure. Symptoms may include vomiting, fever, chills, stomach cramps and watery bloody diarrhea. Illness can last anywhere from one week and up to three weeks, especially in children.
This is not Chipotle’s first encounter with foodborne illnesses linked to customers getting sick after dining at the restaurant. In Minnesota this past summer, a Salmonella Newburg outbreak sickened 64 people at 22 Chipotle locations around the state. The source of infection was traced to tomatoes served in the restaurant chain.
