E. coli Outbreak Sickens 5 In Wash., Including 2 Children

SEATTLE, WA - Two siblings under age 5 and a woman in her 50s from King County have been sickened by E. coli in connection to a national outbreak linked to romaine lettuce. A total of 5 people from Washington have been sickened, and nearly 100 have been sickened nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The two children have recovered from the illness. One was hospitalized, but neither child developed a type of kidney failure associated with E. coli. The woman in her 50s became ill after eating romaine lettuce while out of state, according to King County health officials.

"Public Health’s disease investigators are currently working to identify the exact source of the E. coli exposure and suspect romaine lettuce as a potential source but it is not yet confirmed. Other members of the family ate romaine lettuce and were also ill but were not tested for E. coli. It is possible that the children contracted the illness from other ill family members rather than from eating romaine lettuce. The family reported that they have not traveled out of state recently, suggesting that the family’s exposure to E. coli was local," King County Public Health reported in a bulletin released Friday.

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