Outbreaks appear not to be related.
At least seven people in Stephens County, Ga., have fallen ill with E. coli in the last several weeks, leading health officials in the area to begin investigating the source of the outbreak, local radio station WNEG reports.
Two of the patients were hospitalized and are now recovering. Most of the seven sickened have been confirmed to have E. coli O157:H7.
Environmental health officials are still investigating the possible source of the outbreak, Georgia District 2 Public Health spokesman Dave Palmer told Food Safety News.
Health investigators in Texas’ Brazos County are looking into ten possible infections of E. coli O157:H7 they suspect may be linked to food.
The Brazos County Health Department has confirmed five of the illnesses, and investigators believe another five patients are infected with the same strain of bacteria.
Two related children under the age of five have been hospitalized at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston for the past week, The Eagle reports. The other eight cases are adults and were not hospitalized.