The multistate outbreak of Escherichia coli O103 infections has spread to 109 cases, up from 96 cases as of April 9, the CDC reports. Ground beef may be the source of the outbreak, the agency said.
The CDC is investigating ground beef as the outbreak's source after preliminary interviews with those sickened indicated that they ate ground beef either at home or at a restaurant. The agency has not identified a common supplier, distributor or brand of ground beef and is not recommending that people avoid eating ground beef at this time.
E. coli infections initially were reported in five states: Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio and Virginia. As of April 12, one case was reported in Indiana as well.
So far, 17 people have been hospitalized by the outbreak, the third-largest multistate E. coli outbreak reported in the last two decades, according to the CDC.
People with E. coli typically recover within a week, but some cases can go longer and become more severe.
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