Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Spinach-borne E. coli that killed at least three people and sickened almost 200 had the same DNA signature as that found in fecal matter on a ranch growing both greens and beef cattle, state and federal officials said today.
A laboratory found the E. coli in three samples of cattle feces taken from one of four ranches under investigation in the California counties of Monterey and San Benito, said Kevin Reilly, deputy director of prevention services with the California Department of Health Services.
``We do not have a smoking cow at this point,'' Reilly said on a conference call with reporters today. The finding is significant because officials have never made such a definitive connection to a contamination source in nine previous investigations in California's Salinas Valley, he said.
Tags: