At least 19 people in seven states, including Washington, have been sickened by E. coli poisoning tied to rotisserie chicken salad from Costco. The company removed the product from all stores on Nov. 20.
At least 19 people in seven states, including Washington, have been sickened by E. coli poisoning linked to rotisserie chicken salad sold at Costco stores, health officials reported Tuesday.
The Washington victim, who is from King County, fell ill after eating the salad in late October, state health officials said. Five people have been hospitalized in the outbreak and two have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, HUS, a type of kidney failure linked to E. coli poisoning.
Most cases have been reported in Western states, including six in Montana, five in Utah, four in Colorado and one each in California, Missouri, Virginia and Washington.
The illnesses have been caused by Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7, apparently linked to rotisserie chicken salad made and sold at stores operated by the Issaquah-based firm. Eighty-eight percent of ill people interviewed so far say they ate the Costco salad the week before they got sick.
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Reported illnesses started on dates ranging from Oct. 6 to Nov. 3 and sickened people who range in age from 5 to 84. Illnesses that occurred after Nov. 10 might not be reported yet because of a lag in confirmation and reporting.
On Nov. 20, Costco reported to public-health officials that it had removed all remaining chicken salad from stores in the U.S. and stopped production of the product until further notice.
Costco officials stopped sales and production of the salad last Friday, as soon as they learned of the problem, said Craig Wilson, the company’s vice president of quality assurance and food safety. The chicken salad includes just four components: meat, celery, onion and salad dressing, he said. So far, it’s not clear which item may be linked to the outbreak.
Anyone who has Costco chicken salad should discard the product, which is identified as number 37719.
E. coli infections can cause serious illness in young children, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. Symptoms occurs within two to eight days of eating contaminated food and include vomiting and diarrhea, including bloody diarrhea.