Four of 55 sickened have been hospitalized, CDC says

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Friday that 55 people across 15 states have been sickened in a foodborne illness outbreak linked to alfalfa sprouts, with four patients requiring hospitalization.

State health authorities first announced the outbreak earlier in the week after documenting more than three dozen cases in Minnesota and Wisconsin, the CDC said Friday. The agency’s update also confirmed additional case reports from 13 other states: Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota and Washington.

Multiple pathogens have been identified in the alfalfa sprouts connected to the outbreak, the CDC said.