Officials at Chipotle Mexican Grill said on Sunday (November 1) they have closed all their restaurants in two West Coast markets due to a reported outbreak of E. coli bacteria that is being investigated by the company and health authorities. An official with the Washington State Department of Health said preliminary investigations have uncovered more than a dozen cases of E. coli in the area.
“We are aware of a total of 19 cases of intestinal E. coli in Washington that are being investigated as a potential cluster,” Washington State Epidemiologist Marisa D’Angeli told reporters at a briefing. “Of these 19 Washington cases, a majority of them have eaten at a Chipotle restaurant, leading us to believe that a food product at Chipotle may be the source of the their infection.”
Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, with the King County Department of Health, said it’s possible that more cases will turn up.
“We certainly expect that people can become ill even if the risk is no longer present because the incubation period can be up to 10 days, although it’s usually two to three days or four days,” he told reporters at the same briefing. “The last case that was reported was approximately a week ago. So their last meal was approximately a week ago. So it’s possible the risk period has passed. We’ll know probably more next week – if additional cases don’t appear, that will be very good. We’re hoping that that’s going to be the case. But at this point, it’s impossible to say whether the risk is on-going.”
A spokeswoman for the company said the vast majority of Chipotle stores in the area had reported no problems and said the company offered its deepest sympathies to those affected by the situation.
The 1,700-outlet restaurant has grown quickly since it opened in 1993 with a single location, distinguishing itself from typical fast food restaurants. It prides itself on its healthy and high-quality fresh ingredients used in its menu of burritos, tacos and salads. (Reuters)
