Health officials: E. coli outbreak possibly connected to 4 Evergreens shops in Seattle

Public Health - Seattle and King County is investigating an E. coli outbreak possibly connected to four Evergreen salad shops in Seattle, heath officials said.

On Tuesday afternoon, officials announced that the outbreak is potentially associated with the following locations:

Pioneer Square (106 1st Avenue S, Seattle)
University District (4609 Village Ter NE, Seattle)
Downtown (823 3rd Avenue, Seattle)
Chinatown International District (504 5th Avenue S, Seattle)

Since Nov. 20, six people tested positive for E. coli after consuming food from the four locations in King County. The meal dates were between Nov. 5 and Nov. 11 and illness onsets were between Nov. 10 and Nov. 15. One other person had an E. coli infection with the same genetic fingerprint as the others but didn't eat at Evergreens.

One person was hospitalized; the others reported being ill but have since recovered.

Officials said they are still investigating and do not yet know what caused the outbreak.

"Genetic testing on isolates from four of the seven cases indicates that the strains are all the same, suggesting a common source. We are still awaiting test results on the other three cases," officials said. "Data indicates that this strain is different from the strain currently causing a national outbreak of E. coli associated with romaine lettuce grown in Salinas, California."

Evergreens released the following statement:

"Evergreen's is committed to the health and safety of our employees and guests and we are working closely with the Health Department. Evergreen's has set-up a dedicated toll-free phone line for those who may have questions or issues. We encourage our guests with questions to reach out to us at our toll-free number 877-394-4146."

Last week, health officials said a King County man was diagnosed with an E. coli infection connected with a national outbreak linked to that romaine lettuce.

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