A nurse in Washington state has filed a lawsuit after becoming ill last week from Chipotle. Cases range in age from 5 to 60.
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“Many people affected with Shiga toxin E. coli may not seek health care, so the number of people made ill by this outbreak is likely more than identified”, the agency reported.
12 people are being treated for E. Coli linked to eating at Portland-area Chipotle restaurants.
The number of confirmed E. Coli food poisoning cases linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc in Oregon and Washington state rose to 35 on Tuesday, as the company announced steps to improve food safety.
The Denver-based company has 1,755 Chipotle restaurants across the United States as well as a handful of locations in Canada, England, France and Germany.
Eight Chipotle restaurants have been tied to the outbreak.
Oregon health officials said Chipotle customers in Clackamas and Washington counties in Oregon, and Clark, King, Skagit and Cowlitz counties in Washington reported symptoms.
On Tuesday, Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, said the closing down the Chipotle locations was the right thing to do.
Food from six Chipotle stores connected with the outbreak is being tested.
This is a big improvement from the information available during past outbreaks.
Health officials said that most people experience watery or bloody diarrhea and stomach cramps in one to 10 days. Without adequate ways of tracing tomatoes or other contaminated produce to their origins, everybody stopped buying tomatoes, everywhere. Of the 25 cases, 23 reported having been at Chipotle restaurants before getting sick. The company says it’s cleaning and sanitizing all restaurants that are closed and replacing all the food inside. Most of the E. coli do not cause any harm but a few of them can cause health issues like diarrhea.
Most cases of infection can be categorized as mild, with patients making a full recovery within five to seven days.
The Oregon Health Authority, Washington State Department of Health, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are working with local health departments in the Portland area and in other Oregon counties on the outbreak investigation.
There are hundreds of E. coli and similar bacteria strains in the intestines of humans.
A woman sued Chipotle in federal court in Washington on Monday, saying she was infected with E. coli after eating at one of the chain’s restaurants in Vancouver on or about October 21.
Undercooked hamburgers and unprocessed produce could also contain traces of the E. coli bacteria.
At 2 p.m., watch a news briefing on E. coli outbreak sickening 25 in Wash.
At least two people don’t believe they ate at Chipotle, according to the Seattle Times.
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Stay on topic – This helps keep the thread focused on the discussion at hand. “We don’t yet know of a vehicle – what food caused it”, or whether all of the reported infections are even related to each other.
