Popular California beach closed amid E. coli outbreak

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

See more from the L.A.Times in Google Search.

Set us as preferred Public health officials in Santa Cruz County this week closed Capitola Beach — a popular stretch of sand lined with cheery pastel-colored homes and cozy waterfront cafes — amid an E.coli outbreak.The E.

coli O157 outbreak has sickened at least nine children, the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency said in a statement.Four of the children live in Santa Cruz County, and five are from other Bay Area counties.

All cases are linked to likely exposures at Capitola Beach or surrounding waterways, where public health officials are investigating potential sources of the bacteria.Capitola Beach is a manicured patch of sand at the mouth of Soquel Creek, and health officials this week tested water at four nearby locations in search of the bacteria, including an upstream spot near Nob Hill, the jetty, Soquel Creek Lagoon and the flume where water enters Monterey Bay.The City of Capitola said in a water quality alert message Tuesday that the shop-lined Esplanade remained open but that visitors and their pets should avoid all contact with ocean, creek and lagoon water.The beach closure in Santa Cruz County comes weeks after a deadly E.Coli outbreak in San Luis Obispo County, three hours south.

On Tuesday, health officials there confirmed that one person had died of an infection amid a cluster of cases linked to the popular Brookshire Farms.More than a dozen people who visited the farm in late October reported symptoms, including three children reportedly put in pediatric intensive care.An investigation by the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department found five people with laboratory-confirmed infections.

Testing of food, water and other samples at the farm did not find the specific strain found in those cases, and the exact source of the bacteria has yet to be determined, health officials say.“We can...