Chipotle Mexican Grill has temporarily closed all 43 Washington and Oregon locations due to an reported outbreak of E. coli bacteria.
"We immediately closed all of our restaurants in the area out of an abundance of caution, even though the vast majority of these restaurants have no reported problems," said Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold in a statement, according to CNN.
Oregon and Washington state health officials said that 22 people have contracted E. coli linked to six Chipotle Mexican Grill locations, with eight of those people hospitalized over the outbreak. Three cases were confirmed from people in Oregon who dined at locations in Clackamas and Washington counties, and nine of the Washington cases were linked to the same Clark County restaurant. The additional cases were linked to locations in Cowlitz, King and Skagit counties.
Oregon health officials said in a press release that the number is likely higher, as not everyone seeks medical help when they become ill.
E. coli has been reported from eating at Chipotle restaurants in WA and OR. https://t.co/YwM0lNszg2
— WA Dept. of Health (@WA_DeptofHealth) October 31, 2015
Symptoms of E. coli infection include vomiting, fever, abdominal cramps, watery and/or bloody diarrhea. While most people can shake off the infection in about a week, children and the elderly are more susceptible to developing kidney failure, Oregon Live reported.
"All we know are those are outlets where we have cases associated currently, and I don't want to give the impression that those are the only ones that might be affected," Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for Public Health - Seattle & King County, said during a news conference, according to The Seattle Times.
In September, Chipotle came under fire in September when a salmonella outbreak sickening 34 people was linked to dining at Minnesota locations of the restaurant chain, as previously reported by HNGN.
The outbreaks are coming of the heels of a Chipotle lawsuit earlier this year claiming that the fast-food chain lied about GMO-free food. The lawsuit accuses Chipotle of selling products laced with GMOs even though they claimed that they are the first major restaurant chain in the U.S. to not use GMOs.
