E. coli outbreak linked to carrots sickens Tri-Cities area person, dozens nationwide

One of the eight people in Washington sickened with E. coli likely linked to organic carrots is a person from Franklin County, according to the Washington state Department of Health.

Other cases were in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties.

Nationwide, 39 people are believed to have illnesses linked to the E. coli outbreak, but no other states had as many illnesses as Washington, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Oregon has had three cases.

Five of the eight people sickened in Washington were hospitalized, but none died.

The single death reported in the outbreak was in California.

Due to health care privacy laws, information on whether the Tri-Cities area resident infected was hospitalized was not made public.

Grimmway Farms has recalled bagged organic baby and whole carrots sold in multiple sizes under multiple brand names.

The Washington state Department of Health says none should still be on store shelves, but residents may have some in their refrigerators or freezers.

They would have been on store shelves from about Aug. 14 to Oct. 23.

Stores that could have sold the carrots in the greater Tri-Cities area included Target, Fred Meyer, Albertsons, Walmart, Safeway and possibly others.

They were packaged under several brands — 365, Bunny Luv, Cal-Organic, Compliments, Full Circle, Good & Gather, GreenWise, Grimmway Farms, Marketside, Nature’s Promise, O-Organic, President’s Choice, Raley’s, Simple Truth, Sprouts, Trader Joe’s, Wegmans and Wholesome Pantry, according to the Washingtons state Department of Health.

Some suspect there are likely more cases nationwide than have been officially reported.

Seattle attorney Bill Marler, a food safety advocate, wrote in a blog post that many people infected recover without medical care and are not tested for E. coli.

In addition, recent illnesses many not yet be reported as it usually takes three to four weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak, Marler said.

Known illnesses started between Sept. 6 and Oct. 28, he said. Ages ranged from 1 to 75.

You should throw away any carrots still in your refrigerators or freezers that may be contaminated, says the Washington state Department of Health.

Get medical help if you have any of these serious symptoms that could be linked to the outbreak:

Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102°F

Diarrhea for more than 3 days that is not improving

Bloody diarrhea

So much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down.

Signs of dehydration, such as not urinating much, dry mouth and throat, or feeling dizzy when standing up