More patients are being identified by investigators working on an E. coli O157 outbreak that has been limited to Washington State. However, today Arizona officials confirmed there is a child in that state with an infection from the same strain of the pathogen.
There are 11 confirmed patients in Washington in the outbreak linked to locally produced organic yogurt sold by Pure Eire Dairy. Another three probable patients are from the Moses Lake area in Grant County, WA. Teresa McCallion of the Washington Department of Health said it is not unusual for counties and local health departments to know of probable cases before they are added to the state’s tally.
“We only report confirmed cases,” McCallion told Food Safety News on Wednesday evening. The Washington Health Department is working on a special outbreak information web page, which McCallion said should be available soon.
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