The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are currently working with local health officials to determine the exact source of an E. coli outbreak that began in October of 2015.
As of December, 140 people in 9 different states had reportedly been infected with E. coli after eating at Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurants. Twenty of those infected have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been linked to the outbreak.
The original reports of infection started in Washington and Oregon with later reports coming from California, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The CDC has suggested that anyone who became ill with diarrhea after eating at a Chipotle restaurant should see a health care provider to determine if they were infected.
If a person is infected, he or she will develop diarrhea (often bloody) and severe stomach cramps within about four days of the initial infection. The restaurant chain has already been served with a lawsuit on behalf of one of the infected and more are expected. The federal government has also served the chain with a subpoena to appear before a grand jury that has been called to investigate the outbreak.
