November 2, 2009 N.H. death may stem from tainted beef Play video

(NECN: Lauren Collins, Manchester, N.H.) - Of the 18 New Englanders who've fallen ill, three were in New Hampshire.

Beth Daly at the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services says, "all three were hospitalized and unfortunately one died."

Public health officials believe all 26 cases identified in the country so far trace back to ground beef that was potentially contaminated by a deadly strain of e-coli.

"About five to ten percent of e-coli cases go on to develop a severe complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome," says Daly. And Dr. Rich Marcucci, M.D. at the Elliot Hospital in Manchester says, these are the kinds of e-coli that generally contaminate processed meats and processed beef."

The suspected meat was packaged between September 14th and 16th and had sell by dates from September 19th through the 28th. It was all labeled under the store name brand and it all came from the same processing plant in New York State.

Fairbanks Farms of Asheville, New York has issued a voluntary recall for more than a half million pounds of the ground beef that it sent to stores throughout the U.S.

In New England, the product was sold under the Shaw's label and the store's organic Wild Harvest name, at Price Chopper, and at BJ's Wholesale Club. Labels of concern are marked "EST. 492."

Daly's "message for consumers is that they should check their freezers to make sure that they don't still have some of this product

New Hampshire public health officials won't release specifics on the state's e-coli cases, except to say the person who died was an adult. A second victim in New York had underlying health problems. The bacteria affect everyone differently.

"You can either have a very mild disease and perhaps didn't seek treatment so you wouldn't really know that you'd become infected, you may not have any symptoms at all."

Dr. Marcucci says the symptoms of a severe case are unmistakable, and anyone who has them should call their doctor immediately. "The particular bad strain of e-coli causes invasion of the gut, and then fever, chills and multiple organ system problems."