As of April 8, 2019, 96 people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O103 have been reported from five states. CDC is reporting the 96 illnesses that the PulseNet laboratory network has confirmed are part of this outbreak. States are investigating additional illnesses that might be a part of this outbreak.

Illnesses started on dates from March 2, 2019, to March 26, 2019. Ill people range in age from 1 to 81 years, with a median age of 17. Fifty-one percent are female. Of 67 people with information available, 11 (16%) have been hospitalized. No deaths and no cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome have been reported.

This investigation is still ongoing and a specific food item, grocery store, or restaurant chain has not been identified as the source of infections. State and local public health officials are interviewing ill people to determine what they ate and other exposures in the week before their illness started. Federal and state regulatory officials use that information to guide efforts to identify a contaminated food and trace it to its source. Learn more about how public health and regulatory agencies investigate a foodborne disease outbreak.

Outbreaks of E. coli O103 are rare.  From the CDC NORS dataset:

https://wwwn.cdc.gov/norsdashboard/

Year State Transmission Serotype Setting Illnesses
2000 Washington Food O103 Caterer (food prepared off-site from where served); Other 18
2010 Minnesota Food O103:H2; O145:NM School/college/university 29
2011 Wisconsin Animal Contact O103; O157:H7 6
2013 Minnesota Person-to-person O103 Child day care 3
2013 Pennsylvania Indeterminate O103:H2 Private home/residence 2
2014 Ohio Indeterminate O103 Child day care 3
2014 Multistate Food O103:H2 Restaurant – other or unknown type 12
2014 Ohio Indeterminate O103; O157:H7; O146:H21 Private home/residence 4
2015 Multistate Food O103 Restaurant – other or unknown type 4
2015 Ohio Person-to-person O103 School/college/university 6
2015 Multistate Food O103 Restaurant – other or unknown type 6
2015 Kansas Person-to-person O103 Child day care 12
2015 North Carolina Person-to-person O103 Child day care 20
2015 Virginia Person-to-person O103:H2 Prison/jail 4
2015 Ohio Indeterminate O103 Child day care 5
2016 Ohio Indeterminate O103 Other, specify 7
2017 Ohio Person-to-person O103 Child day care 4
2017 Oregon Food O103 Other 13

Additional Resources