More information about an E. Coli outbreak has become available. The Ohio Departments of Health and Agriculture have confirmed that a raw ground beef sample provided for testing in an E. Coli case is linked by genetic fingerprinting to the multistate outbreak in Ohio and Michigan.

Test results released Thursday verify the E. coli present in the beef sample shares the same genetic fingerprint with the bacteria that has sickened 19 Ohioans in recent weeks.

Information submitted with the positive beef sample indicates the product was purchased at the Kroger Marketplace in Gahanna. It is important for consumers to realize beef purchased from other sources may also be tainted, and steps should be taken to protect themselves from foodborne illnesses.

A second sample, purchased by a consumer from a Kroger in Fairfield County, was sent to the Ohio Department of Agriculture Consumer Analytical Lab in Reynoldsburg and tested negative the strain.

“Food safety is the number one priority of the Ohio Department of Agriculture,” said Director Robert Boggs. “The department is working closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to perform a traceback investigation to find the source of this ground beef.”

The Ohio Department of Health and local health departments in six counties continue to investigate 19 Ohio cases of E. coli O157:H7 that have been linked genetically and epidemiologically to cases in Michigan.

The 19 cases being investigated are in Franklin (nine confirmed, two probable), Delaware (one confirmed), Fairfield (four confirmed), Lucas (one confirmed), Seneca (one confirmed) and Union (one confirmed) cases.

“Reports of foodborne illnesses tend to increase in the summer months and Ohioans should be aware of steps they can take to protect themselves and their loved ones,” said Ohio Health Director Alvin D. Jackson, M.D. “E. coli infection is a serious illness that is preventable."