E. Coli Outbreak At Chipotle Restaurants Come to An End in the United States

Two separate outbreaks of E. coli sickened dozens of customers at Mexican restaurant chain Chipotle in the United States.

People can heave a sigh of relief as the health authorities have declared an end to two separate outbreaks of E. coli that sickened dozens of customers at Mexican restaurant chain Chipotle in the United States.

The infections with shiga //toxin-producing Escherichia coli O26 (STEC O26) were first reported in the western states of Washington and Oregon in late October.

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The outbreak in Boston initially spurred worries that it may have also been E. coli. But Boston public health officials determined the illness was norovirus.

‘Health authorities have declared an end to the e.coli outbreaks at the Chipotle outlets in the United States.’

"These two outbreaks appear to be over. The most recent illness reported to CDC started on December 1, 2015," said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A total of 55 people in 11 states were infected during the first outbreak. Twenty-one were hospitalized. The second outbreak was smaller, infecting five people and resulting in one hospitalization.

No one died in either outbreak, though E. coli is considered dangerous and can cause bloody diarrhea and kidney failure, even death.

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Twenty-two people in the two states have fallen sick due to E. coli outbreak and most of those people have eaten at a Chipotle restaurant during the past few weeks.

The two outbreaks bore "different, rare DNA fingerprints of STEC O26 but the same food ingredient is believed to have been the cause, said the CDC. However, its probe did not identify which ingredient was to blame.

"When a restaurant serves foods with several ingredients that are mixed or cooked together and then used in multiple menu items, it can be more difficult for epidemiologic studies to identity the specific ingredient that is contaminated," said the health agency.

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Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold said the company was pleased that the CDC has concluded its investigation, and we have offered our full cooperation throughout. Over the past few months we have taken significant steps to improve the safety of all of the food we serve, and we are confident that the changes we have made mean that every item on our menu is delicious and safe.

Sales and stock at Chipotle took a hit after the outbreaks. Separately, US officials have launched a criminal probe of an outbreak of norovirus at a Chipotle restaurant in California in August that sickened some 80 customers and 20 employees.

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Source-AFP