With E. coli illnesses in nearly every state being reported over the last month, it comes as no surprise that California is getting hit again.  Health officials say two San Diego County elementary school children have been sickened by E. coli.  The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency said Wednesday that the girls, ages 7 and 9, have been hospitalized and are expected to recover.  The agency says both girls attend Carmel Creek Elementary School, near the city of Del Mar.  Public health officer Wilma Wooten says the school has not been named as the source of the bacteria, but school staff are cooperating with their investigation.

In Illinois and Iowa there are now six confirmed cases of E. coli in the Tri-States, and a source might have been discovered among the ones in Southeast Iowa.  According to the Burlington Hawkeye, late last week, the Des Moines County and Lee County Health Departments each confirmed another infection.  That puts the C. coli case count at three in Lee County, two in Des Moines County, and one in Hancock County.  Yesterday, the Hancock County Health Department released a statement saying their case was unrelated to the recent Iowa infections. The Hawkeye reports that sources close to the Iowa cases believe that unpasteurized apple cider caused children to become sick.