Outbreak No. 1: Fifty-three people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O26 have been reported from nine states. The majority of illnesses have been reported from Washington and Oregon during October 2015. The number of ill people reported from each state is as follows: California (3), Illinois (1), Maryland (1), Minnesota (2), New York (1), Ohio (3), Oregon (13), Pennsylvania (2), and Washington (27). Among people for whom information is available, illnesses started on dates ranging from October 19, 2015 to November 14, 2015. Ill people range in age from 1 year to 94, with a median age of 21. Fifty-nine percent of ill people are female. Twenty (38%) people reported being hospitalized. There have been no reports of hemolytic uremic syndrome and no deaths.
Outbreak No. 2: CDC is investigating another, more recent outbreak of a different, rare DNA fingerprint of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O26 linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill. Because it is not known if these infections are related to the larger, previously reported outbreak of E. coli O26 infections, these illnesses are not being included in the case count for that outbreak. This investigation is ongoing.
5 ill people have been identified in Kansas (1), North Dakota (1), and Oklahoma (3).
The illnesses started on dates ranging from November 18, 2015 to November 26, 2015.
All five (100%) reported eating at a Chipotle Mexican Grill in the week before illness started.
Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, is the nation’s leading law firm representing victims of E. coli outbreaks and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The E. coli lawyers of Marler Clark have represented thousands of victims of E. coli and other foodborne illness infections and have recovered over $600 million for clients. Marler Clark is the only law firm in the nation with a practice focused exclusively on foodborne illness litigation. Our E. coli lawyers have litigated E. coli and HUS cases stemming from outbreaks traced to ground beef, raw milk, lettuce, spinach, sprouts, and other food products. The law firm has brought E. coli lawsuits against such companies as Jack in the Box, Dole, ConAgra, Cargill, and Jimmy John’s. We have proudly represented such victims as Brianne Kiner, Stephanie Smith and Linda Rivera.