E. coli cases linked to B.C. cheese farm rise to 24 across five provinces

VANCOUVER – The Public Health Agency of Canada says it is investigating in five provinces more cases of E. coli connected to contaminated cheese products from British Columbia.

The number of cases has now risen to 24, with 11 cases in B.C., 10 in Alberta, and one each in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec.

All the people involved became sick between mid-July and mid-September after eating products from Gort’s Gouda Cheese Farm.

Cory Vander Linde, an 82-year-old Vernon woman, died in August from the bacterium linked to the farm located in Salmon Arm.

Fifteen products manufactured at the farm have been recalled, and while the agency says there is currently no indication of a widespread risk to Canadians, it urges people to follow proper hygiene procedures to avoid spreading the illness. (CFJC, The Canadian Press)