The big picture on bacteria

Mike Osterholm
Mike Osterholm, with the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
MPR Photo/Tom Scheck

From the East Coast to the Midwest, E.coli has now made more than 60 people sick.

There's an E. coli outbreak that Minnesota officials are tracking. At least 14 cases have now been reported; these people became sick after eating at Taco John's restaurants in Austin and Albert Lea.

The bacteria first infected those who ate at Taco Bell restaurants in New York, Philadelphia and other eastern states.

Federal tests have not been able to confirm the bacteria is linked to green onions, and investigators are still trying to find the exact source of contamination.

MPR's Cathy Wurzer asked Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, for some insight into this foodborne illness and what's causing it.

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