All Chipotle restaurants in the 4-county Portland Metropolitan area have closed effective immediately due to a massive outbreak of Shiga toxin E. coli. Eight people are presently hospitalized, and others may require hospital treatment as well; due to the length of the incubation period, it remains unclear as to exactly how many will be affected.
Most people infected develop watery and/or bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps within 1-10 days, with the average 3-4 days. Most illnesses resolve on their own within 7 days. Most people recover within a week but, rarely, some develop a severe type of kidney failure that can begin as the diarrhea is improving and is most common in children under five years old and the elderly.
UPDATE: All Chipotle restaurants in the Pacific Northwest are now closed. The closures are not forced by governmental agencies; they are all voluntarily shut down in the wake of this outbreak.
