SLO County health officer gives E. coli investigation update

San Luis Obispo County’s public health officer provided a new update Friday on the Department of Public Health’s investigation into an E. coli outbreak linked to a San Luis Obispo County farm.

And she had a simple message for worried residents: Don’t be worried about pumpkins.

Dr. Christy Mulkerin, who assumed the role as the county’s top official earlier this month, confirmed that Brookshire Farms is the only farm under investigation by the county for potential links to the Shiga toxin-producing E. coli outbreak that has infected at least five people and possibly as many as 13, including three children.

After initially being reported as five confirmed cases, another eight potential cases were added to the county’s investigation on Friday.

The county did not provide an update on the children, who were described earlly this week as being in “serious condition and receiving pediatric intensive care.”

Dr. Mulkerin also confirmed that the county has carried out environmental testing at the farm just outside San Luis Obispo on Los Osos Valley Road.

“We’re continuing our investigation to try to find a specific source on the farm of the infection, and we’re going to share the environmental testing when it’s appropriate,” Dr. Mulkerin said. “We can’t pinpoint the pumpkins as the source of the outbreak right now.”

Though the county’s first news release about the source of the infection identified Brookshire Farms as the source and another post on Facebook on what to do with pumpkins purchased there recommended throwing carved pumpkins away entirely, Dr. Mulkerin said the county “didn’t intend to say that pumpkins were the source of the infection.”

Dr. Mulkerin said she couldn’t confirm when the county’s lab testing on environmental samples from Brookshire Farms will be complete, but that the results will be released to the public when they are available.

“We’re really trying to emphasize to the public, ‘Please don’t be afraid of pumpkins,’” Dr. Mulkerin said. “Good handwashing is the key to prevention of the spread of this infection.”

Joan Lynch is a housing reporter at the San Luis Obispo Tribune. Originally from Kenosha, Wisconsin, Joan studied journalism and telecommunications at Ball State University, graduating in 2022.