E. coli outbreak spreads to five states

An E. coli outbreak linked to beef sold at Kroger Food stores in Michigan and Ohio is spreading.

At least one confirmed case of the same bacterial infection present in 41 cases in the aforementioned states has turned up in New York, Kentucky and Indiana, Associated Press reports from a Centers for Disease Control release.

Kroger recalled its ground beef once news of the infections went public, totaling about 5.3 million pounds of ground beef.

After just recalling the beef in Michigan and Ohio, the company expanded its recall.

The report states the Kentucky-based victim does live hear Ohio but the Indiana and New York cases have not been to either state recently.

The strain of E. coli carries a potentially fatal risk. Twenty-one of the victims required hospitalization and one has developed kidney cancer.

The beef sold to Kroger has been traced to Nebraska Beef, a processing center.