Costco’s Chicken Salad Linked to E. Coli Outbreak

At least 19 people in seven states may have been infected by E. coli after eating rotisserie chicken salad sold at Costco Wholesale Corp's (COST.O) stores.

Rotisserie chicken salad sold at Costco Wholesale Corp. is a “likely source” of an E. coli outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Nineteen people in seven states are sick with an E coli infection. The infections have been reported in Montana, Utah, Colorado, California, Missouri, Virginia and Washington, CDC said. No deaths have been reported, but two individuals developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, a type of kidney failure that can lead to permanent organ damage.

Engineered E. Coli to Produce New Antibiotics That can Overcome Drug Resistance
E. coli has been used to create 40 new forms of the popular antibiotic erythromycin that have a slightly different structure from existing versions.

‘Nineteen people in seven states are sick with an E coli infection linked to chicken salad from Costco, federal health officials said.’

It's a different strain of E coli from the one that forced the closure of more than 40 Chipotle outlets in Washington and Oregon earlier this month. But the dangers are the same.

"The epidemiologic evidence available at this time suggests that rotisserie chicken salad made and sold in Costco Wholesale stores in several states is a likely source of this outbreak," CDC said.

"Consumers who purchased rotisserie chicken salad from any Costco store in the United States on or before November 20, 2015, should not eat it and should throw it away," CDC advised.

New Study Helps Scientists Understand How E. Coli Clone Has Become Globally Distributed
Scientists have come closer to the understanding of how a E. coli clone described as the most important of its kind to cause human infections, has spread across the world in a very short time.

The current number of HUS cases is twice what is normally seen with E. coli O157:H7, the pathogen identified in the outbreak, said Bill Marler, a Seattle food safety attorney who represents people sickened by tainted food.

Source-Medindia

Reprogramming E. Coli to Combat Hard to Treat Bacterial Infections
The notorious bacteria E. coli is well known for making people sick. But scientists have reprogrammed the microbe, which also comes in harmless varieties, to make it seek out and fight other disease-causing pathogens.

Scientists: Human Cases of Infection Could Be Cut by 85 Percent On Vaccinating Cattle Against E. Coli O157
Scientists have found that vaccinating cattle against the E. coli O157 bacterium could cut the number of human cases of the disease by 85%.