E. coli Outbreak Sickens 14, Kills ToddlerE. coli Outbreak Sickens 14, Kills Toddler

ATLANTAThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is investigating a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O145 infection that reportedly has killed a New Orleans area 21-month-old girl and sickened 14 people in six states, CBS News reported.

The source of the outbreak is unknown, and authorities are looking at both food and non-food exposures as part of the ongoing investigation. State public health officials are interviewing ill persons to obtain information regarding foods they might have eaten and other exposures in the week before illness.

Illnesses onset occurred between April 15 and May 12, 2012, and cases have been reported in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Tennessee. Three people have been hospitalized.