An investigation conducted by city health officials, in relation to the 19 people who became sick with E. coli, revealed that the outbreak was caused by a chicken salad from Costco.
A report from AOL stated that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that, on Oct. 6, there have been reports of people aged five to 84 who got ill after eating the salad from the store.
Although there is no confirmed death due to the outbreak, the E. coli strain which produces Shiga toxin can be potentially fatal as it may result to death. This is not related to the outbreak that happened recently that forced certain branches of Chipotle to close in some states in the Northwest, the news outlet added.
The Mexican restaurant temporarily closed 43 of their branches in the state of Oregon and Washington after a strain identified as E. coli 026 was found to be present in some of the meals. They have since reopened after thorough cleaning and changing their ingredients.
CDC confirmed that the E. coli strain in the latest outbreak, identified as STEC O157:H7, can pose a serious threat to children's health, AOL added. The agency also said that this strain is more likely to be dangerous than the E. coli outbreak in the Northwest.
"Five ill people have been hospitalized, and two have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. No deaths have been reported," CDC said.
They also added that the "epidemiologic evidence available at this time suggests that rotisserie chicken salad made and sold in Costco Wholesale stores in several states is a likely source of this outbreak."
In addition to their statement, they also advised customers who bought the chicken salad from any Costco outlets in the U.S. on or before Nov. 20 to discard it.
"Even if some of the rotisserie chicken salad has been eaten and no one has gotten sick, throw the rest of the product away," the agency continued.
The Costco headquarters, which is located in Washington State, has not released an official statement yet.
A person that has E. coli infection will experience abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. Hundreds of E. coli bacteria naturally reside in a human intestine, but some strains can cause diseases, the CDC said.
E. coli bacteria cause disease and spread when a person takes in contaminated food or water. The agency also mentioned that supportive therapy, such as hydration, is the best way to approach E. coli infections. Antibiotics or antidiarrheal drugs won't help in this case.
