King County health officials tracking E. coli outbreak with unknown source

Public Health Seattle and King County is investigating an E. coli outbreak, which it says has sickened at least seven people among the county's east African communities. The source of the bacteria is currently unknown.

The seven patients are between 11 months and 35 years old. Six have recovered. Four were hospitalized.

The first case of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli was reported in December 2021, but the last six were reported since June 2022. Health officials also say that most patients reported eating different types of meat, from goat to ground beef.

While health officials cannot rule out multiple contamination sources, genetic fingerprinting indicates that all seven people have the same strain of the bacteria, which means they likely got sick from the same source.