Restaurants identified as cause of deadly E. coli outbreak in Montana; supplier not named

Montana authorities have identified the restaurants that sold ground beef that caused an E. Coli O157:H7 outbreak that left one person dead.

The Flathead City-County Health Department and the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services continue to work together to investigate the outbreak that originated in Flathead County.

Authorities did not name the manufacturer or provide information about the distribution of the ground beef in question.

On July 25, local and state departments received confirmatory clinical and food sample test results that identified ground beef as an exposure of concern. Specifically, the source of the outbreak was Wagyu beef from a single lot number. All cases were reported as consumption of undercooked or cooked-to-order Wagyu beef burgers at multiple restaurants in Flathead County. The last known date of consumption is July 14, 2024.

The following restaurants are associated with 14 reported illnesses in this outbreak: Gunsight Saloon; Hops Downtown Grill; Tamarack Brewing Company; Lodge at Whitefish Lake; and Harbor Grille. Additionally, based on information provided during the investigation, one person died after exposure to wagyu beef consumed at Harbor Grille.

Several other facilities—Flathead Fish, Crawdad Café, and Flathead Lake Lodge—received contaminated wagyu beef from the same lot, but no illnesses have been reported associated with those facilities. Once the source of exposure was initially identified, public health personnel worked directly with the affected businesses to ensure that all remaining wagyu beef from the contaminated lot was removed from use.

Samples of the suspect product were sent to the Montana Public Health Laboratory for testing, which allowed for laboratory confirmation of the source of the outbreak. None of the contaminated beef remains in circulation, and all businesses associated with the outbreak have been contacted directly, according to the county health department.

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