Federal health officials say the E. coli strain is among the most severe.
New Jersey has now become part of a seven-state investigation into outbreaks of a severe strain of E. coli, which has caused a half-dozen people to be hospitalized and one person to experience kidney failure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The probe — which also includes Connecticut, Idaho, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington — comes just days after New Jersey health officials confirmed multiple E. coli cases in four counties in the state, which they said could possibly be linked to a restaurant chain.
The CDC, however, said in a statement on Tuesday that the source of the E. coli outbreaks still remains a mystery.
“A specific food item, grocery store, or restaurant chain has not been identified as the source of infections,” the statement said.
As of Monday, 17 people nationwide had been infected with a potentially severe strain of E. coli — the Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, according to the CDC. The strain can potentially cause people to become dangerously ill.
New Jersey currently has six confirmed E. coli cases — the most of all seven states, according to the CDC’s case count map.
New Jersey health officials on Wednesday said the six confirmed cases in the state match the strain impacting the other six states. However, officials noted that there are two additional people who tested positive for E. coli, but it is still unknown whether the strain matches the other cases.
The illnesses in all seven states were reported between March 22 to March 31. The ages of the people who became ill in all seven states range from 12 to 84 years old, according to the CDC.
Six ill people had been hospitalized, “including one person who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure,” according to the CDC’s website.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s case count map of the U.S. states experiencing outbreaks of E. coli. No deaths have been reported, the CDC said.
The investigation is still ongoing.
Last week, however, the New Jersey Department of Health said the E. coli cases in the state had “a possible association with a chain restaurant,” but did not name the specific chain.
The Warren County Health Department confirmed that Panera Bread restaurants were part of a “regional investigation” into the E. coli outbreak, which could also involve other chain restaurants.
State and local public health officials are continuing to interview ill people to determine what they ate and other exposures in the week before their illness started, the CDC said.
Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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