ATLANTA – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday that an E. coli outbreak in Michigan and Ohio has been linked to cases in three other states.

New York, Kentucky and Indiana each reportedly have a lab-confirmed case of the infection that caused 41 cases in other states.

The Kentucky patient lives near the Ohio state line, but the New York and Indiana patients did not travel to either of the states where the outbreak began, said Mark Sotir, a CDC investigator.

The E. coli was traced to recalled beef from Nebraska Beef Ltd. The company has recalled about 5.3 million pounds of ground beef products linked to the outbreak.

The initial cases were tracked to beef sold by The Kroger Co. The supermarket chain has recalled Nebraska Beef products from its stores in 22 states.

All 44 illnesses in the outbreak are attributed to the same type of E. coli, one that causes a potentially deadly bacterial infection. CDC officials said 21 of the victims have been hospitalized and one developed kidney failure, but no one has died.

Source: Associated Press