Author: Tony Coveny, Ph.D

The Washington State Department of Health (WSDH) and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) have finally released the serotype of E. coli that has sickened at least 39 people who ate at local Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants from north of Seattle to the Portland, OR region. WSDH and OHA have announced the pathogen to be Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O26 (STEC O26 or E. coli 026), and noted that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are also involved in the investigation. The identified victims, and health officials expect there are…

Chipotle has now closed 43 restaurants in Oregon and Washington States. This follows reports of at least 21 illnesses: 3 E. coli victims in Clackamas and Washington counties, Oregon, and 19 E. coli victims from Clark, Cowlitz, King, and Skagit counties, Washington. According to Jonathan Modie, spokesperson for the Oregon Health Authority, at least a 6 have been hospitalized in an outbreak that covers the area near Portland, Oregon to about 50 miles north of King County, where Seattle is located. According to Modie, the victims seem to have come from 6 stores. But Chipotle (which has 1700 outlets) is…

As of last night, a number of Chipotle restaurants in Oregon and Washington States were closed. By this morning, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) was conceding it had launched an investigation into the possibility that at least six of these restaurants had been linked to a regional outbreak of E. coli that centered in and around the major cities of Seattle and Portland. The outbreak includes at least 19 Washingtonians and three Oregonians, this according to a public relations representative of the OHA, Jonathan Modie. The Oregonians were residents of Clackamas and Washington counties, and the victims from Washington were…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed that at least 767 victims have been identified in the largest Salmonella outbreak of 2015. Unofficial estimates place the number of possible illnesses at more than 20,000. The confirmed cases come from at least 36 states, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is assisting the CDC and state and local health agencies in the investigation. The confirmed cases are all victims of Salmonella Poona, a relatively rare strain of Salmonella that has been traced back to Mexico’s Baja region where the tainted cucumbers were grown and…

The Mariscos San Juan Shigella outbreak continues to grow – there have now been at least 118 victims identified in Santa Clara County by the Santa Clara County Public Health Department (SCCPHD) and 23 victims identified by other county health agencies, including, but not limited to, victims in San Mateo County, Alameda County and Santa Cruz County. This brings the current total to 141 victims, with over a third having been laboratory confirmed as of Friday, October 23rd. According to SCCPHD officials, most of the victims recalled eating at the Mariscos San Juan located at 205 N. Fourth St. in…

According to health officials with the El Dorado County, a wave of recent E. coli illnesses have been linked to unpasteurized apple juice from High Hill Ranch in Camino, CA. So far, at least seven victims have been identified. The unpasteurized apple juice subject to the warning represents any unpasteurized apple juice purchased on or after October 6, 2015. The unpasteurized apple juice was sold by High Hill Ranch, which issued a voluntary recall after El Dorado County and Sacramento County health officials warned them of the link between the E. coli illnesses and their unpasteurized apple juice. The E.…

Health officer and Director of Communicable Disease Controller, Dr. George S. Han, announced today that a popular San Jose restaurant, Mariscos San Juan, located at 205 N. 4th Street, had been closed by Santa Clara County health officials on Sunday, October 18th. According to the announcement, this last Saturday, October the 17th, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department received reports of at least 5 recent Mariscos San Juan patrons presenting to local area hospitals with fever and diarrhea. Over the next day, another 19 sick individuals were identified, bringing the total to 24. Each of the Mariscos San Juan…

An animal barn and a petting at a Maine county fair are under investigation after two children became infected with E. coli. The fair has been identified as the Oxford County Fair. One child has tragically died, while another continues to suffer from life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), through its Maine affiliate, is now focusing its efforts on the petting zoo and animal barns at the Oxford County Fair which took place over the weekend of September 16-19. According to a CDC spokesperson, the CDC “is working with the State Veterinarian and…

The massive Salmonella Poona outbreak continues to grow, taking the life of a fourth victim with the number of confirmed cases now over 700. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now says it has confirmed 732 cases, with many more victims either not yet tested or who received medical attention but did not provide a stool sample for positive confirmation. The fourth fatality was a resident of Oklahoma, and follows the death of on Arizona resident and residents of California and Texas. The food poisoning law firm of Ron Simon & Associates has already filed a lawsuit on…

The North Dakota Department of Health (NDDH) has issued an advisory concerning an ongoing outbreak of Salmonella in North Dakota that is unrelated to the ongoing Salmonella Poona Cucumber outbreak linked to Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce cucumbers imported from Baja California by the California company. This outbreak strain is Salmonella Thompson, and so far at least 22 victims have been identified as having Salmonella Thompson with the same genetic signature – 14 of these reside in Ward County, ND. But according to Laura Cronquist, a Division of Disease Control epidemiologist, even the residents who reside outside of Ward County…