In the Spring of 2009 Hartford City health department officials interviewed cafeteria workers at Aetna’s downtown Hartford office, where five Aetna employees had been stricken with E. coli. The food vector of the outbreak has yet to be determined. The cases occurred over a month time period. At least one, and perhaps more of the five, who reported ill were hospitalized.

According to new reports at the time of the outbreak, in a health inspection conducted less than two weeks before the outbreak, the inspector cited finding a dead mouse, rags used without sanitizer and uncovered foods contaminated with airborne dust from construction. In 2008, the cafeteria was also cited for not having soap in the hand-washing station. The reports stated that a common source of E. coli is undercooked meats, which can also be spread from not properly washing hands.