Child’s Death Linked to E. Coli

A 2-year-old boy who died from kidney failure last month had been infected with the same strain of E. coli bacteria that prompted a nationwide consumer warning on fresh spinach, health officials said Thursday.

Kyle Allgood was the second confirmed death in the outbreak, which also killed an elderly Wisconsin woman and sickened at least 190 other people.

The boy died Sept. 20 in Salt Lake City after developing a type of kidney failure caused by E. coli. Health officials had to wait for the results of genetic testing on the bacteria to determine whether his illness was from spinach.

The sample taken from the boy was fairly small, so technicians had to let it grow for several days in a laboratory before analyzing it, officials said.

The toddler fell ill after having a fresh spinach smoothie, according to his mother.