Experts Think Tough New E. Coli Strain Caused Illnesses

Officials at Odwalla Inc. thought their apple juice was too acidic for the E. coli to survive in it. But federal health officials say there are tough new strains of the bacteria that may be causing the latest rash of illnesses in California, Washington and Colorado.

The culprit may be a nasty E. coli strain known as O157:H7.

“It is evolving,” said Joe Madden, strategic manager for microbiology at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Federal investigators on Saturday were awaiting test results after investigating Odwalla’s production facility in Dinuba, Calif., about 190 miles southeast of San Francisco. They suspect that the Half Moon Bay company’s natural drinks containing apple juice are the culprit in the most recent E. coli illness outbreaks.

Odwalla also finished pulling natural fruit drinks that contain apple and carrot juice from shelves throughout the West and in Canada. Carrot juice products were recalled because they used the same assembly line at the company’s Central California plant.

The outbreak includes more than 50 people, mostly children, and comes just two weeks after 10 Connecticut residents were sickened by unpasteurized cider. The juices were produced by a company that, like Odwalla, apparently followed guidelines to brush and wash apples before pressing them into juice.

Officials in Washington state have reported the greatest number of cases in the outbreak with 17 confirmed cases of E. coli, though none are gravely ill. Fifteen of those confirmed drank Odwalla drinks before falling ill, and 12 were children. Another 10 cases were suspected.

In Colorado, four cases of E. coli were confirmed with another 11 suspected.

At least 10 children in California were believed sickened by E. coli, including 2-year-old Tara Azizi of Concord, who remained listed in critical but stable condition at Children’s Hospital in Oakland Saturday.

A 3-year-old South Bay girl identified only as “Anna” went home Saturday after spending nearly a week at Stanford’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said. Both were expected to recover.

In Los Angeles County, two infants - one 22 months, the other 18 months old - were suffering from E. coli. Their parents said both babies had recently consumed Odwalla apple juice, officials said.