There are now 24 confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7 in the southern Ontario towns of Niagara, Burlington, Guelph and Waterloo, with some of the cases sharing the same genetic fingerprint.
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Another 64 suspected cases are being investigated.
Dr. Doug Sider of Niagara Region Public Health said,
"It seems likely there was contaminated produce in the commercial market being distributed to restaurants back to the mid-part of October.”
In Waterloo Region, two high-school students contracted the bacteria and public health officials expect to keep the cafeteria at St. Mary’s High School in Kitchener closed for a few more days.
The region’s associate medical officer of health, Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, said provincial investigators are studying whether the outbreak is linked to romaine lettuce.
University of Guelph spokesperson Chuck Cunningham said "as a precaution" the university has removed lettuce from the main University Centre food court, cafeterias in residences and the Creelman dining hall. That’s because lettuce is part of the probe by public health and the provincial Ministry of Health, he added.