ST. LOUIS—There E. coli outbreak impacting St. Louis now involves 10 states and 69 confirmed patients, according to the Food and Drug Administration. 

Earlier this week, St. Louis County Department of Public Health said genetic testing has confirmed 25 local cases linked to same strain in the multi-state outbreak. 

Health officials say there have been 115 recent cases of E. coli in St. Louis County, including 13 hospitalizations and three people have been diagnosed with a severe complication caused by the bacterial infection.

What You Need To Know

  • There are 69 confirmed cases in 10 states, 25 were in St. Louis County.

  • Two law firms have filed three suits against a California farm that the firms say is the source of contaminated food linked to the E-coli outbreak

  • The implicated lettuce appears to be past its shelf life and no longer in the supply chain, according to the FDA.

California-based Taylor Farm was named in two lawsuits, which allege romaine and iceberg lettuce grown and supplied by the company contained e. Coli. The outbreak has been linked to multiple events catered by or hosted at Andre’s Banquets and Catering, including those by Rockwood Summit High School and Oakville High School. 

After the suit was announced, DPH told Spectrum News it has no confirmation that the source has been determined. It did say earlier this week that its investigation was nearing an end and that the data its collected continues to suggest that the exposure came from leafy greens. 

A recall is unlikely, since there is no immediate risk to consumers — the implicated lettuce appears to be past its shelf life and no longer in the supply chain, according to the FDA. 

“We look forward to the health department finishing its work and finding the source of our local outbreak,” a spokesperson for Andre’s said in a statement.  “Lettuce taken from our facility tested negative for E Coli on November 23rd.  The bottom line is that we still don't know the source of the outbreak in our region.  We reiterate-- as we have from the onset-- that it's been unfair to name our company without this investigation being complete."

Spectrum News has reached out to Taylor Farms but has not received a comment.