Five people have been hospitalized by E. coli and at least three others have been infected in Washington due to a nationwide outbreak from bagged organic carrots, according to the state Department of Health.
Nationally, the outbreak has infected 39 people in 18 states, with 15 hospitalized after eating organic whole and baby carrots sold by Grimmway Farms, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Sunday.
In Washington, four cases were reported in King County, two in Snohomish County, and one each in Pierce and Franklin counties.
No deaths have been reported in Washington.
Grimmway Farms, based in Bakersfield, Calif., has recalled the carrots, which included whole and baby organic carrots sold in bags under multiple brand names including 365, Cal-Organic, Nature’s Promise, O-Organics, Trader Joe’s and Wegmans, among others.
The carrots are no longer in stores, but the CDC is warning consumers to not eat recalled bag carrots and to check their refrigerators or freezers and throw away any carrots that fit the description. Most of the infected people live in New York, Minnesota and Washington, followed by California and Oregon, although infections have been reported in states throughout the country, according to the CDC.
The recalled organic baby carrots have best-by dates ranging from Sept. 11 through Nov. 12, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The only death so far was reported in California.
According to the CDC, the current number of sick people and the spread of the outbreak is likely an underestimate, since many people recover without medical help and are not tested for E. coli. It also takes about three to four weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak, according to the CDC.
Public health investigators have used DNA testing on bacteria from sick people, finding the samples are closely related genetically. This suggests that the infected people likely got sick from the same food, according to the CDC.
The ages of the sick people range from 1 to 75 years old. Most were white and female, according to the CDC.
Symptoms of E. coli infection usually start three to four days after eating the bacteria and include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, which is often bloody, and vomiting. People with severe symptoms of an E. coli infection should seek medical attention and tell the provider what they ate, the CDC reported.
The bacteria E. coli can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, older people and those with weakened immune systems, according to the FDA.
There have been several E. coli outbreaks in recent months. In October, in the U.S. linked to slivered onions. In the U.K., one person died in an E. coli outbreak in June linked to lettuce that sickened at least 275 people. Organic walnuts sickened consumers in 19 states with E. coli infections in April.
Despite the number of recent outbreaks, experts say the food supply is generally safe, although there hasn’t been much progress in curbing infections caused by E. coli.
