Chipotle on Campus Corner in Norman, Oklahoma was recently linked to three cases of E. coli in Oklahoma that were contracted in mid-November.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health, along with the Centers of Disease Control (CDC), is investigating three cases of E. coli believed to have been contracted at a Chipotle restaurant in Norman, Oklahoma.

The department said there is one confirmed case of E. coli in Cleveland County and two in Canadian County.

“We don’t know the specific ingredient or the source of the contaminant,” said Laurence Burnsed, an epidemiologist for the state health department. “We’re still in the process of investigating with other states and with our federal partners at the CDC and FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to gather info we need.”

Burnsed said the one commonality between the reported responses of the three individuals who contracted E. coli is that they ate at the Chipotle in Norman.

Chipotle released a statement after the most recent outbreak. Two other individuals contracted E. coli at a Chipotle restaurant in Kansas.

“None of the ingredients in our restaurants today were present at the time of these illnesses,” Chipotle’s release read. “Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have indicated that additional cases from similar time periods may still be reported as they make their way through various state health departments to the federal health officials.”

The individuals ate at the restaurant between Nov. 14 and 23, according to the release by Chipotle.

Burnsed said the E. coli contracted in November is similar to, but not the same as, a strain of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli that resulted in 53 cases across nine states connected with Chipotle in October. Twenty of those individuals have been hospitalized.

“The pattern is slightly different than in the October cases,” he said, referring to the DNA fingerprint of the E. coli, which is the same STEC 026 reported earlier this year. Burnsed said the source of the earlier E. coli outbreak is being investigated.

The Chipotle location in Norman has not been closed, and Burnsed said there were several factors involved in that decision.

“The three cases happened back in November and, at this time, we’re not receiving additional reports suggesting this might be an ongoing occurrence,” he said. “That sometimes can happen in a cluster of illness — there may have been a limited period of time where the contaminated product was received and served.”

Burnsed encouraged individuals who believe they may have contracted E. coli to consult with their health care providers.

Slinkard writes for The Norman (Okla.) Transcript