Feds Close In On Source Of E. Coli Strain

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/12/health/main2086582.shtml

(AP) The strain of deadly E. coli behind a recent outbreak has been linked to a cattle ranch next to Salinas Valley spinach fields, California and federal investigators said Thursday.

The strain of pathogenic E. coli O157:H7 was found in three cattle fecal samples collected at one of four ranches under investigation, the officials said. The ranch is within a mile of produce fields.

“We do not have a definite cause-and-effect here. We do have a very important finding,” said Dr. Kevin Reilly, deputy director of the Prevention Services Division of the California Department of Health Services.

Investigators still do not know how the feces could have contaminated the spinach implicated in the bacterial outbreak.

FULL story at link above.