THURSDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Three samples of cattle fecal matter from one ranch in California's Salinas Valley have tested positive for the same strain of E. coli bacteria that sickened 199 people in 26 states and left three dead after they ate contaminated spinach.
"We do not have a 'smoking cow' at this point," said Dr. Kevin Reilly, deputy director of the prevention services division for the California Department of Health Services. "We do not have a definitive cause-and-effect, but we do have an important finding."
The ranch in question is one of four still under scrutiny in San Benita and Monterey counties.
"The investigation is not concluded in any way, shape or form," Reilly said.
The ranch that yielded the positive specimens included both a beef cattle operation as well as fields where spinach and other ready-to-eat produce were grown. The fecal-matter specimens were found half a mile to a mile from the produce fields themselves. The produce fields themselves abutted the livestock pastures, Reilly said.
The proximity of fresh produce fields to farm animals has long been a concern to agricultural and health authorities, Brackett said, and is a matter that officials will continue to scrutinize.
http://health.msn.com/dietfitness/ArticlePage.aspx?cp-documentid=100146955
