More cases of E. coli in Washington, Oregon expected

E. coli
Electron micrograph image of a cluster of E. coli bacteria magnified 10,000 times. Researchers were able to quickly sequence the DNA of a suspected strain of E. coli thought to be the case of the latest outbreak in Europe. Credit: Eric Erbe | Christopher Pooley | USDA | ARS | EMU

Health officials expect the number of people sickened by an E. coli outbreak linked to Chipotle restaurants in Washington state and Oregon to grow while they investigate the cause of the infection.

As of Friday, three people in the Portland area and 19 people in western Washington had become sick from E. coli. Seventeen of them had eaten at a Chipotle restaurant during the past few weeks.

A medical epidemiologist with the Washington State Department of Health said Sunday that they expect the numbers to jump on Monday. People who heard of the outbreak over the weekend may have gone to the doctor and new cases will be reported to the health department.

Marisa D'Angeli also cautioned the may not be limited to people who ate at Chipotle.

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