E. coli Outbreak Linked to Fresh Bagged Spinach

The Associated Press is reporting a confirmed E. coli outbreak that has spread to at least eight states, leaving one person dead and fifty others sick. At this point, federal health officials believe that the source is bagged fresh spinach, but are unsure of any specific brands or regions that are most vulnerable. The lone death thus far occurred in Wisconsin, while people in Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah have been sickened.

Health officials in California have already issued an official warning for consumers not to eat fresh bagged spinach. Dr. David Acheson of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition told the AP that at least 20 people have been made ill around the country and that the link to bagged fresh spinach appears to be strong. "We're advising people not to eat it," Acheson said.

Acheson went on to explain that the majority of those sick have been women and had no further information on the person who died. Dr. Bill Keene, an epidemiologist with the Oregon Department of Human Services, told the AP that "People have either varying or no recollection of the brand [of spinach] they purchased.

T.J. Bucholz of the Michigan Department of Community Health told the AP, "We're telling people if they have bagged produce and they feel like it's a risk, throw it out. If they feel like they have to eat it, wash it first in warm water."

Preliminary analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that the same bug is responsible for all of the illnesses around the country.

The CDC web site notes the following information regarding E. coli: "An estimated 73,000 cases of infection and 61 deaths occur in the United States each year. Infection often leads to bloody diarrhea, and occasionally to kidney failure. Most illness has been associated with eating undercooked, contaminated ground beef. Person-to-person contact in families and child care centers is also an important mode of transmission. Infection can also occur after drinking raw milk and after swimming in or drinking sewage-contaminated water."