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Santa Cruz County beach closed after children sickened with E. coli
New York Post • • health
Key Points:
- Nine children have fallen ill due to an E. coli outbreak linked to Capitola Beach in California, prompting authorities to temporarily close the beach for investigation.
- Four of the infected children are Santa Cruz County residents, while five are from nearby Bay Area counties, with all cases connected to a common exposure likely at Capitola Beach or nearby waterways.
- Environmental testing is underway at multiple sites around Soquel Creek and Capitola Beach to identify the outbreak source, which remains unknown at this time.
- This outbreak follows a separate, severe E. coli incident at Brookshire Farms in San Luis Obispo, where over 15 people were sickened and one child died after developing serious complications.
- E. coli infections typically cause gastrointestinal symptoms but can lead to rare, life-threatening conditions such as Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, which affected several children in the San Luis Obispo outbreak.
