Number of people in latest E. coli outbreak expected to grow

SEATTLE – The number of people sickened in an E. coli outbreak linked to Costco chicken salad will likely grow over the next few weeks, even though the product has been removed from store shelves, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

The spread of foodborne illness takes time to track, especially when it’s happening in multiple states, said Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases.

State health officials discovered the outbreak and helped find the links among the 19 illnesses in seven states, Tauxe said.

“Very quickly they noticed these people did have something in common. They really liked and ate the rotisserie chicken salad,” he said.

The big-box retailer pulled the chicken salad off store shelves nationwide, posted signs in its stores and provided detailed purchase logs to the CDC to help it track who bought the product and where the salad ingredients came from, Tauxe said.

Costco has not returned multiple calls seeking comment.

The strain of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli can be life-threatening, but no deaths have been reported. Five people have been hospitalized, including two with kidney failure. The CDC has been told they are all getting better, Tauxe said.

The CDC has identified a DNA fingerprint of the E. coli strain connecting all 19 patients. As health officials get more reports of foodborne illness, the case count will likely rise, Tauxe said.

Six people got sick in Montana, five in Utah, four in Colorado, and one each in California, Missouri, Virginia and Washington. The CDC said the illness reports began on Oct. 6.

Officials urged people who bought the chicken salad on or before Friday to throw it away, even if no one has gotten sick.