E. coli Spinach Scare Increases to 21 States

WASHINGTON - The nationwide health scare over bacteria-ridden spinach widened Monday, as the number of states reporting sickness linked to the outbreak increased to 21.

Illinois and Nebraska each reported a case linked to the E. coli bacteria alert believed to be caused by fresh spinach. Earlier Monday, the Food and Drug Administration widened its warning against eating any bagged spinach to include all fresh spinach.

At least 111 people have become ill. One death is blamed on the outbreak.

In the latest cases, an elderly woman in La Salle County, in northern Illinois, was hospitalized with kidney failure linked to E. coli thought to have been contracted from contaminated spinach, said Melaney Arnold, communications manager for the Illinois Department of Public Health.

A Douglas County, Nebraska, resident was sickened by the same strain of the bacteria, the state's public health department said in a written statement. The patient did not require hospitalization and has since recovered.

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