Physical Wellness

New Case of Outbreak Reported at Chipotle, Investigators Say this Case Different than the Previous Ones

By Kanika Gupta | Update Date: Dec 24, 2015 02:50 PM EST

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday made an announcement that did not fare too well for the already suffering Chipotle. Five more cases of food-borne illness have been reported by CDC that are linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill outlets. However, the only thing different this time is the bacteria responsible for the illness. This one has a different DNA than the E. Coli strain. One new case in North Dakota and Kansas each and three new cases in Oklahoma. All the customers reported ill said to have eaten at Chipotle between November 18th and November 26th which a week before they fell sick. CDC said that since it is not known if the new cases are an extension of the old cases of outbreak, they will not increase the total count of the number of cases. In the first group, one more person has been reported ill in Pennsylvania making the total headcount as 53 in nine states. Out of these people, 20 patients had more serious symptoms that they had to be hospitalized, as reported by Washington Post.

"The epidemiologic evidence available at this time suggests that a common meal item or ingredient served at Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants in several states is a likely source of this outbreak," the CDC said. "At this point, even rational and informed consumers could potentially be given reason to pause when choosing Chipotle over the plethora of fast-casual competition in the marketplace," Ivankoe wrote. "This new case was not contemplated in our previous investment thesis,"

"The new CDC report has potential to derail the early damage control/recovery actions," wrote Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts, Joseph Buckley and Gregory Francfort. "We think there are significant near-term risks to Chipotle's business and our concerns about these risks underlie our rating," as reported by CNBC

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