Nestle Cookie Dough Outbreak Expands - Now 70 Confirmed Illnesses

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) just released updated Nestle Toll House cookie dough E. coli O157: H7 outbreak numbers: There are now 70 confirmed cases of foodborne illness in 30 states, with 25 persons being hospitalized and 7 experiencing complications from hemolytic uremic syndrome.

The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Arizona (2), California (3), Colorado (5), Connecticut (1), Delaware (1), Georgia (1), Hawaii (1), Iowa (2), Illinois (5), Kentucky (3), Massachusetts (4), Maryland (2), Maine (3), Minnesota (6), Missouri (2), Montana (1), North Carolina (2), New Hampshire (2), New Jersey (1), Nevada (2), Ohio (3), Oklahoma (1), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (1), Texas (3), Utah (2), Virginia (2), Washington (5), and Wisconsin (1). Ill persons range in age from 2 to 65 years; however, 66% are less than 19 years old; 75% are female. No deaths have been reported.

E. coli O157:H7 is commonly linked to hamburger or leafy green products - it has never been linked to raw cookie dough. The CDC, FDA, and state health departments continue to investigate how E. coli O157:H7 infiltrated Nestle's cookie dough manufacturing process.

Most people infected with E. coli O157:H7 develop diarrhea (often bloody) and abdominal cramps 2-8 days (average of 3-4 days) after swallowing the organism, but some illnesses last longer and are more severe. Infection is usually diagnosed by the culture of a stool sample. Most people recover within a week, but some develop a severe infection which can lead to kidney failure (hemolytic uremic syndrome) and even death. This can occur in people of any age but is most common in children under 5 years old and the elderly.

Nestle has recalled all of the potentially contaminated cookie dough.