One person has died in an E. coli outbreak that spread at a pumpkin farm in San Luis Obispo County last month, health officials confirmed Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli left more than a dozen people who visited the popular Brookshire Farms in late October with symptoms, including three children<\/a> reportedly put in pediatric intensive care.<\/p>\n An investigation by the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department found five people <\/a>with laboratory-confirmed infections. Testing of food, water and other samples at the farm did not find the specific strain found in those cases, and the exact source of the bacteria has yet to be determined, health officials say. <\/p>\n \u201cWe can confirm that one individual associated with the E. coli outbreak has died. We are sharing this information with the permission of the individual\u2019s family,\u201d health department spokesperson Tom Cuddy said in an emailed statement. \u201cThis is truly a heartbreaking development, and our thoughts are with the family and everyone affected by this outbreak.\u201d<\/p>\n The outbreak prompted Brookshire Farms\u2019 temporary closure during peak pumpkin season. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m destroyed,\u201d Brookshire Farms co-owner Shawn Callaway told the San Luis Obispo Tribune on Friday,<\/a> the day the farm reopened after its 10 day voluntary closure. <\/p>\n \u201cThe worries, the fears, the concerns, the ups and downs. I mean, how do you explain it? I don\u2019t know,\u201d he said to the news outlet, describing the experience since the outbreak.<\/p>\n