Health officials: 15 more cases of E. Coli in Washington, Oregon; most ate at Chipotle

SEATTLE -- Washington and Oregon health officials now say 37 people have been sickened by E. coli, up from 22. They said most ate at Chipotle restaurants.

Washington health officials are still testing samples from people who have fallen ill in Clark, Cowlitz, Island, King and Skagit counties to see if they all have the same form of the potentially deadly illness.

Nine people in Washington and three in Oregon have been hospitalized, but no one has died. People with E. coli connected with the outbreak have ranged in age from 5 to 60.

All but two of the 25 people affected in Washington reported they recently ate at Chipotle.

A spokesman for Chipotle said last weekend the company plans to keep all 43 of its Mexican restaurants closed in Oregon and Washington state until health officials investigating an E. coli outbreak say it’s safe to reopen.

The Washington state epidemiologist says more people are being tested for E. coli in Washington state as health officials work to track down the source of an outbreak linked to Chipotle restaurants in the Pacific Northwest.

Health officials are aggressively searching for more cases and are trying to find out what the restaurants connected with the outbreak have in common.

Chipotle's stock fell as much as 5 percent early Monday, but recovered slightly, and was down about 3 percent by Monday afternoon.