According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are now 53 illnesses in the multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O26 linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. There may be a second E. coli O26 outbreak as well. The update references one additional case in Pennsylvania in the outbreak with an onset date of Oct. 19. CDC said it’s also investigating another, more recent outbreak of a different, rare DNA fingerprint of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O26 (STEC O26) linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill. “Because it is not known if these infections are related to the larger, previously reported outbreak of STEC O26 infections, these illnesses are not being included in the case count for that outbreak,” the update stated. This “second outbreak” includes five cases in Kansas (1), North Dakota (1), and Oklahoma (3) which illnesses starting between Nov. 18 and 26. All five reported eating at a Chipotle Mexican Grill in the week before illness started. If CDC determines that the five illnesses constitute a separate outbreak, it will be the sixth one Chipotle has faced this year.
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