Officials Hope To Find Source Of E. Coli Soon

Public health officials hope to know by Thursday or Friday if there is a common source of infection among the people sickened by E. coli this week in Western Washington.

Nine cases have been confirmed and another six people are believed to have been infected by the bacteria, a state epidemiologist said Tuesday. Ten of the 15 are children.

Three of the patients developed serious liver ailments, and a 2-year-old was on kidney dialysis at a Seattle hospital.

The strain of E. coli involved, O157:H7, is the same one that killed three children and sickened hundreds in Western Washington in 1993.

That outbreak was traced to undercooked hamburgers served at Jack-in-the-Box restaurants.

“I think there is a common source, but it is possible that it isn’t big enough for us to detect,” said Dr. Russ Alexander, epidemiologist for the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health.

He added he believes it was some kind of food.

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