E. Coli Cases From Chicken Wraps Rise to 50, With No Brand Named by Officials

Fifty people are now confirmed sick in a multistate E. coli O157:H7 outbreak tied to ready to eat chicken wraps, and the federal government still has not told the public which wraps they were.

The Food and Drug Administration raised the count on its outbreak investigation table on October 15, from 38 illnesses to 50. The table first listed the outbreak on September 23 with 25 illnesses. On October 7 the agency identified the suspect product as a ready to eat, multi-ingredient wrap with chicken. It is still listed as a suspect, not a confirmed source.

Two agencies, no brand name

Neither the FDA nor the Department of Agriculture has named a brand, a maker, a retailer, or a single state where someone got sick. No recall is listed on the FDA table. The agency says the wraps were proactively removed from the market before the link to the outbreak was confirmed, and that they are now past their shelf life.

Because the wraps contain chicken, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service shares the case with the FDA. The FDA table shows traceback, on-site inspection, and sampling all under way. The FDA says it is looking at possible contamination at the ingredient level, and the USDA is working to learn whether the chicken in the wraps went into other products. No other food has been publicly linked to the outbreak.

The FDA has not reported hospitalization or death totals for this outbreak, and it has issued no public health advisory.

A lawsuit names a product

The first public name for the product came from a courthouse, not an agency. On October 15, lawyers at Marler Clark filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of Gayle Gottlieb of Pembroke, North Carolina, and Meaghan Egan Bright of Somerville, Massachusetts. The complaint, number 2:26-cv-12017, alleges that Tarragon Chicken Salad Wraps bought at Trader Joe's stores in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Allston, Massachusetts, in late August were contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

Both women were hospitalized, both infections were confirmed by lab testing, and both were told by their local health departments that they are part of this multistate outbreak, the complaint says. Gottlieb bought three wraps in Myrtle Beach on August 23 and ate the first on August 27, according to the filing. Trader Joe's has not publicly answered the claim, and the agencies have not confirmed the lawsuit's account. An allegation in a complaint is not a finding by a court.

The count keeps rising in part because of timing. People who ate the wraps in late August and September are still moving through doctors, labs, and state health departments.

Symptoms and when to get care

E. coli O157:H7 symptoms usually start a few days to about nine days after exposure. They include diarrhea that can be bloody, severe stomach cramps, and sometimes vomiting or a low fever. Children under 5, adults over 65, and people with weak immune systems face the highest risk of severe illness.

The most serious complication is hemolytic uremic syndrome, a kidney condition the CDC calls a medical emergency. Warning signs include urinating little or not at all. The CDC advises calling a doctor for bloody diarrhea, a fever above 102 degrees, diarrhea or vomiting lasting more than two days, or signs of dehydration. Anyone who gets sick should tell the clinician what they ate in the week before symptoms began.