An 86-year-old North Carolina resident died yesterday after suffering from an E. coli O157:H7 infection and subsequent complications that led to multiple organ failure.  Faye Sides was hospitalized at the Rowan County Medical Center after eating at the Captain’s Galley restaurant in China Grove, North Carolina.  She was one of twenty people who ate at the restaurant and became ill with E. coli infections.

This morning’s Charlotte Observer reported on Ms. Sides’ death and the E. coli outbreak that was traced to Captain’s Galley:

Cabarrus and Rowan health officials say they have as many as eight confirmed cases of the intestinal illness, including Sides. They suspect 12 other people were infected.

Sides and the others got sick after eating at the Captain’s Galley Seafood Restaurant on Main Street in China Grove, health officials said.

Officials are still trying to determine whether the infection came from the restaurant’s food, an employee or another source. That answer could take weeks, Pilkington said, or officials might never find out.

Rowan County Health Director Leonard Wood said Thursday he had not ordered the restaurant closed. But Sides’ death has made him "pause and look at that more closely."