Fred Harteis News - E. coli outbreak now in 6 states; agencies focus on Taco Bell

Fred Harteis News - More than 120 people in six states may be infected with the strain of E. coli bacteria involved in an outbreak that may be linked to Taco Bell restaurants, officials said Friday.

Sixty-three people have been confirmed to have the illness, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday afternoon, and state health agencies, earlier said about 60 other cases were under investigation. South Carolina and Utah are the latest states to report outbreaks.

State and federal agencies are still trying to pin down the source, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the vast majority of the reported cases involved people who had eaten at Taco Bell restaurants before falling ill.

Dr. Greg Braden of the CDC said his agency and state health departments have not seen any other sources of the illness and are zeroing in on Taco Bell and its suppliers.

"We have some leads to say that it might be green onions, and that's based upon some preliminary testing that's been done in a number of laboratories right now," Braden said, "but the testing has not been confirmed, so we're keeping the options open, and the investigations that we're doing will be covering a wide range of foods, all of them served at Taco Bell specifically."

On a voice recording for consumers looking for more information on E. coli, Taco Bell says, "Many of the people who reported becoming ill did not eat at Taco Bell."

Representatives for the company could not provide an updated count of consumers who contracted E. coli after eating at its restaurants. Instead they referred CNN to the health departments of the states where cases have been identified or are suspected: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, South Carolina and Utah.

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Source: Cnn.com

About Fred Harteis: Fred Harteis leads Harteis International. Fred Harteis has a background in agriculture and has created many successful business ventures.