South Plainfield, N.J. – An E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 22 people – two of them seriously – was linked by health investigators Monday to three Taco Bell restaurants in New Jersey. Investigators also were examining whether an outbreak on Long Island was connected to the fast-food chain.
All but two of the people who fell ill in New Jersey had eaten at one of the fast-food restaurants between Nov. 17 and Nov. 28, authorities said. But exactly what food contained the bacteria was still unclear.
Five of the New Jersey victims were in the hospital Monday, including two in serious or critical condition with hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can permanently damage the kidneys, officials said.
In Long Island, an E. coli outbreak sickened at least 14 people, including 10 who ate at Taco Bell.
Taco Bell Corp., based in Irvine, Calif., had no immediate comment Monday. The fast-food chain closed its South Plainfield restaurant last week when it first appeared that the infection might have come from there. It was not until Monday that suspicion fell on two more Taco Bells.
