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CDC Says More States Report E. Coli Linked To Chipotle

<p>A customer enjoys lunch at a Chipotle restaurant in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Chipotle started reopening its restaurants in the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday after an E. coli outbreak sickened about 45 people, a high-profile example of foodborne illnesses that are more common than the public realizes, health experts say. Forty-three outposts of the Mexican food chain in Washington state and the Portland, Oregon, area were closed at the end of October because of the outbreak that hospitalized more than a dozen people. The first restaurants opened for lunch Wednesday.</p>

Don Ryan/AP

A customer enjoys lunch at a Chipotle restaurant in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Chipotle started reopening its restaurants in the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday after an E. coli outbreak sickened about 45 people, a high-profile example of foodborne illnesses that are more common than the public realizes, health experts say. Forty-three outposts of the Mexican food chain in Washington state and the Portland, Oregon, area were closed at the end of October because of the outbreak that hospitalized more than a dozen people. The first restaurants opened for lunch Wednesday.

Six states now report cases of E. coli linked to Chipotle restaurants. In addition to Oregon and Washington, cases have been reported in Minnesota, New York, Ohio and California.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it’s still trying to find the source of the bacteria that sickened 45 people. People got sick after eating at Chipotle restaurants in their home states, according to health officials.

The CDC said it is aware of illnesses starting on dates ranging from Oct. 19 to Nov. 8. The agency said that illnesses that took place after Oct. 31 may not have been reported yet.

Matthew Wise, who runs a team at the CDC that investigates bacterial outbreaks in food and water, said Oregon and Washington identified the outbreak early on, before the CDC completed DNA analysis.

"The reasons that were now seeing illnesses in other states is less the outbreak really expanding, but this DNA fingerprinting kind of catching up with that really quick, early work that Oregon and Washington did," Wise said.

He said investigators think the outbreak is linked to an uncooked produce item, but they have yet to determine the specific ingredient linked to the illness.

Chipotle, based in Denver, has more than 1,900 locations and has gained popularity by touting the freshness and quality of its ingredients. Earlier this year, the company ran into trouble after suspending a pork supplier that violated its animal welfare standards. That led to a shortage of carnitas at hundreds of locations around the country, which the company said dampened its sales growth.

Chipotle’s stock was down 12 percent on the news.

Bill Marler, a Seattle attorney representing people who have been sickened, said the spread of the outbreak will make it easier to determine the source.

"It helps investigators link up to a perishable item," Marler said. "What they're really focusing on right now is the supply chain. What's the common denominator? Who supplied what product to these stores?"

Of those sickened, two have been in California, two in Minnesota, one in New York, one in Ohio, 13 in Oregon and 26 in Washington, according to the CDC.

Sixteen people have been hospitalized, but there have been no deaths, the agency said.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Copyright 2015 Oregon Public Broadcasting

Conrad Wilson is a reporter and producer covering criminal justice and legal affairs for OPB.