Over 40 Chipotle restaurant locations scattered across Oregon and Washington States were closed on Saturday (October 31) after an E. Coli outbreak resulted in several of its customers being hospitalized. According to the Washington State Department of Health, 19 E. Coli cases in Washington and three in Oregon have been linked to the popular Mexican food restaurant.
Although no deaths have been tied to the food chain, the Washington State Department of Health revealed eight customers have been hospitalized. Six different locations in the area have been connected to the bacteria eruption, including four reported cases in King County, nine in Clark County, one in Cowlitz County and five in Skagit County, as well as, three reports from Oregon residents.
"While the outbreak appears to be linked to food served at Chipotle restaurants, the food or other source of contamination hasn't yet been determined and remains under investigation," the department said in a statement.
Many of the restaurants in the area voluntarily shut down "out of an abundance of caution," even though the majority of the chains have no reported problems. Whether the Chipotle restaurants will open in the near future, or at all, will be based on the progress of the investigation.
According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, most strands of E. Coli are harmless but can cause a variety of bodily complications including vomiting, bloody diarrhea, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, abdominal cramps and could later lead to a severe, sometimes fatal illnesses.
Chipotle is currently working with health officials to determine what actually caused some of their customers to get sick.
"The safety and well-being of our customers is always our highest priority," Chipotle's Communication Director Chris Arnold said in a statement, according to NBC News. "We offer our deepest sympathies to those who have been affected by this situation."
