A Gunnison County resident’s illness is part of a nationwide E.coli outbreak that has left one person dead, sickened 131 others and led to spinach being pulled from store shelves, the state health department reported Tuesday.
State health department tests say the strain of E. coli found in Gunnison County bears the same “fingerprint” as the bacteria responsible for the cases in 21 other states, said department spokesman Mark Salley.
“Colorado now has a case of disease confirmed to be part of the multistate E. coli outbreak,” said Dr. Ned Calonge, the state’s chief medical officer.
A second sample, from a Denver resident, was not the same strain of E. coli, according to Dr. Jim Beebe, program manager for microbiology at the state lab.
Colorado health officials are awaiting the results of tests on three other samples to determine whether those are related to the outbreak.
Salley said those results could come today or Thursday.
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began warning consumers not to eat bagged fresh spinach.
The fact that the outbreak of disease has spread to Colorado reinforces the FDA admonition against eating fresh spinach until the source of the contamination is identified, Calonge said.
Federal health officials say there is evidence that the tainted spinach came from California.
Despite inspections and examinations of food-safety reports and anti-contamination procedures, the FDA has not been able to pinpoint the exact source of the E. coli outbreak.
Dr. Ken Gershman, a state epidemiologist, said it is not surprising that spinach likely grown in one state has caused such widespread illness.
“The mass production and transport of fruits and vegetables has introduced new and different risks,” Gershman said. “That’s what we live with.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Staff writer Karen Augé can be reached at 303-954-1733 or kauge@denverpost.com.
What you need to know
The bacterium E. coli 0157:H7 causes diarrhea, often with bloody stools.
Symptoms can appear from three to eight days after exposure to the bacteria.
E. coli-caused illness is contagious.
Most healthy adults can recover completely within a week.
Some people – most likely very young children and the elderly – can develop a form of kidney failure called HUS.
The Food and Drug Administration warns that washing alone will not remove risks associated with tainted spinach. The agency advises consumers to discard all packaged and bundled spinach.
