Costco Chicken Salad Tied To E. Coli Outbreak Sickening 19 People In 7 States
SEATTLE (AP) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 19 people in seven states have contracted E. coli in an outbreak linked to Costco chicken salad.
The strain of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli can be life-threatening. No deaths have been reported, but the CDC says five people have been hospitalized and two have developed a type of kidney failure.
The CDC and state health officials are investigating. They don't know what ingredient in the rotisserie chicken salad made and sold in Costco Wholesale stores is the likely source of the outbreak.
Health officials advise those who bought chicken salad at any U.S. Costco store on or before Friday to throw it away, even if no one has gotten sick.
People have fallen ill in California, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
This comes on the heels of an E. coli outbreak that infected 45 people, with 43 of them saying they ate at Chipotle in the week before they became sick. The CDC said it is aware of illnesses starting on dates ranging from Oct. 19 to Nov. 8. The agency said that illnesses that took place after Oct. 31 may not have been reported yet.
Two people who became sick reportedly ate at a Chipotle restaurant in Turlock.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.