E.coli Outbreak traced to Taco Bell

An E.coli outbreak in New Jersey and New York is currently being linked to Taco Bell. So far, a total of 39 people have been reported; 9 of which are hospitalized; and 2 of these are children in critical condition.

In response to the report, Taco Bell has closed eight of its restaurants in New York and one in New Jersey as a precautionary measure until further investigations by health authorities. Food that has been eaten between November 17 and November 28 is the primary suspect. To date, there are 204 Taco Bell restaurants in New York State, and 86 in New Jersey.

“We have to find the food they all had in common," said David Papi, director of health for Middlesex County.

In a public statement, Greg Creed, the president of Irvine, Calif.-based Taco Bell Corp, said: "Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our customers and employees. We are obviously very concerned about the well-being of all those who have been affected by this incident and will continue to work closely with health authorities to get to the root cause of the issue."

This is considered to be the most serious E. coli outbreak since September, where 3 people died and 200 were infected from eating contaminated spinach.

Escherichia coli O157:H7

Escherichia coli O157:H7, which was first discovered in 1982, is one of the leading causes of foodborne illness. According to the Center for Disease Control, 73,000 cases of infection and 61 deaths occur in the United States each year.

Serious infection of the bacteria can cause kidney failure and hemolytic uremic syndrome, a leading cause of fatality in children.

E. coli is known to release a deadly toxin that causes the disease. Infection is through eating contaminated ground beef, bean sprouts and leafy vegetables. Person-to-person transmission is possible if we are no in the habit of washing our hands thoroughly.