Chipotle E.coli Outbreak May Have Spread to Massachusetts

Newton, MA - An E. coli outbreak at Chipotle Mexican Grill that has spread from the west coast across the U.S. may have hit Massachusetts, where 28 people fell ill after eating at a Boston-area Chipotle Sunday.

The Massachusetts and Boston Health departments continue to investigate. They have not yet confirmed the illnesses are related to a national outbreak at Chipotle restaurants. Fifty-two people in nine states have become ill from what the CDC says are E.coli infections. Twenty of those people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

Chipotle Communications Director Chris Arnold told Patch there is ”no evidence to suggest this is E.coli” in Boston and referred to a company statement.

“The safety and well being of our customers is always our highest priority, so our restaurant at Cleveland Circle in Boston is temporarily closed while we work with local health officials to investigate a number of illnesses among Boston College students,” the statement reads. “We do not have any evidence to suggest that this incident is related the previous E. coli incident. There are no confirmed cases of E. coli connected to Chipotle in Massachusetts.”

The news in Massachusetts was sparked by eight Boston College basketball players who missed a game Sunday due to food poisoning. BC Coaches said the food poisoning was E.coli, and eight players could not play because of symptoms related to it, reported BC Interruption. They were among 28 who reported falling ill after eating at the Cleveland Circle Chipotle, many of whom were BC students. The college’s medical staff sent out an email to the campus alerting students and faculty that “numerous people on campus caught E.coli from the Chipotle restaurant in Cleveland Circle.”

The restaurant shut down after several students at BC, including the basketball players, complained of symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea. All had eaten at the Chipotle at 1924 Beacon St. over the weekend, reported CBS Local.

E.Coli outbreaks have been traced back to Chipotle restaurants in several states in the past month.

Prior to the unconfirmed Massachusetts cases, the newest cases of illness surfaced in Maryland, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

The status of the Boston College players and students is not available.

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates.