6 in Seattle sickened by local food vendor

Hand in glove holding Petri plate with bacteria Escherichia Coli, Klebisiella Pneumoniae, Serratia Marascens

At least six people have been sickened with the same strain of E.coli in Seattle, with the origin of their diagnosis appearing to be a local Mexican food vendor.

Three of the six individuals have been hospitalized, Q13 Fox reported. The food vendor operates at two food trucks, stands at seven local farmers’ markets and a catering company, which makes it possible others have been exposed, according to the Seattle & King County Public Health Department.

The company’s operations have been halted. Health department investigators said that the owners of Los Chilangos have been cooperative.

According to the health department, the fact that the company uses food trucks may not be a factor in the outbreak.

“I can say we hold all our food businesses to the same food safety standard,” Becky Elias, the manager of the health department’s Food Protection Program, told Q13 Fox. “We find, in our inspections, food trucks and brick-and-mortar restaurants perform at the same level.”

E.coli O157 is one of the most serious foodborne illnesses an individual can contract and it can be transmitted through eating or drinking something contaminated with animal or human fecal matter, through animal contact or through contact with an individual already infected by E.coli.

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