CDC Confirms Multistate E. coli Outbreak Linked to Raw-Milk Cheese — 13 Cases, 9 States, 3 Kidney-Failure Cases, Half the Patients Under 5
September 28, 2026. The CDC and FDA are investigating a multistate E. coli outbreak linked to Graziers raw (unpasteurized) milk cheeses sold by Sierra Nevada Cheese Company of Willows, California — 13 confirmed cases in nine states, with eight hospitalized and three developing hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), the kidney-failure complication of Shiga-toxin E. coli; no deaths reported. "Over half of the case-patients are under the age of 5 years" (CIDRAP, Sept 28, 2026; CDC outbreak page).
Spread and timing: three cases each in California and Nevada, and single cases in Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Michigan, Kentucky, Georgia, and Tennessee. Illness onset ranges July 7–August 26, and the FDA's investigation notice identifies the strain as E. coli O26:H11 (FDA). The cheese was sold at retailers nationwide, and because it "has a long shelf life," agencies are warning consumers to check refrigerators and freezers1: "Check your refrigerators and freezers for the recalled raw milk cheeses and throw them away."
The undercount warning: "The true number of sick people in this outbreak is likely much higher than the number reported2, and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses… many people recover without medical care and are not tested for E. coli" (CDC, via CIDRAP).
Why it matters: this is the second major raw-dairy-linked outbreak event in the 2026 news cycle (after the year's largest-ever Cyclospora outbreak, CDC Closes the Largest Cyclospora Outbreak in U.S. History — 12,883 Illnesses, Two Dead, Root Cause Still Unnamed — different vehicle, same undercount dynamic), and HUS in children under 5 is the classic severe outcome regulators cite when warning against unpasteurized dairy for young children. Watch for case-count growth and any expanded recall.
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An instance of Diffuse agricultural supply networks guarantee that localized contamination scales into multi-state outbreaks. — One California creamery's contamination diffused across nine states through national retail distribution before cases could even cluster for traceback. ↩︎
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An instance of Official outbreak counts are floors, not measurements. — Untested recoveries never enter the tally, making every official case count a floor rather than a measurement. ↩︎