“So there’s a chance that it may be here in Las Vegas- we just don’t know yet”, says Dr. Daliah Wachs, who describes the Costco E. Coli strain as particularly severe when compared to the recent E. Coli outbreak at Chipotle locations across OR and Washington that impacted more than 40 customers.
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Five of those people have been hospitalized, including two with kidney failure.
Initial testing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) points toward a vegetable mix sourced from a California produce wholesaler as the potential source of E. coli connected with Costco’s rotisserie chicken salad.
The CDC is advising people through campaigns to drop or throw away the chicken salad recently bought, even after consuming a small amount.
The company uses one supplier for those vegetables in the chicken salad sold in all its USA stores, Wilson said.
State health officials, particularly those in Utah, discovered the outbreak and helped find links between the 19 illnesses in seven states, Tauxe said.
The current strain linked to Costco has been identified as E. coli 157, which the CDC said is more likely to be more harmful, especially in young children. The CDC says that there is no evidence that any other Costco products are involved. Illnesses that occurred after November 10, 2015, might not be reported yet due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported. Tauxe says they have all been told they are getting better.
The CDC has identified a DNA fingerprint of the E. coli strain connecting all 19 patients.
Consumers who purchased chicken salad made with rotisserie chicken – item number 37719 – from any Costco location should discard it. People who have eaten it and feel ill should talk to a health care provider. This isn’t the first time Costco has found itself in the middle of a food contamination scandal, reported Reuters. The chicken salad has a shelf life of three to four days and is labeled as “Chicken Salad made with Rotisserie Chicken”. Chipotle voluntarily closed 43 restaurants in Washington and OR after that outbreak.
Among people for whom information is available, illnesses started on dates ranging from October 6, 2015 to November 3, 2015.
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Symptoms linked with this particular strain of E.coli include diarrhea and abdominal cramps.
