UPDATE: Health officials confirm E.coli from recalled beef

The Knox County Health Department has now positively linked three E. coli infections with a beef recall earlier this month.

The ground beef was sold in frozen patties at Sam's Club and was made by Cargill Meat Solutions. It was also distributed to some restaurants and foodservice institutions.

If you have purchased American Chef's Selection Angus Beef Patties, check to be sure it does not fall under the case code of "7703100."

Below is a more complete description of that product.

6-pound boxes of "American Chef's Selection Angus Beef Patties 18-1/3 Pound Patties." Each package bears a case code of "7703100" and various package codes of Best If Used By dates of "02/05/08," "02/06/08," "02/12/08," and "02/13/08."

An additional case of E. coli in Cocke County has been determined to be unrelated and is considered by health officials to be a sporadic case.

The three victims in Knox County became infected with E. coli O157 from eating contaminated beef. The Centers for Disease Control has dubbed this specific strain as outbreak # 0710NYEXH-1c. Analysis showed it to be a distinct infection from a cluster in Indiana under the same outbreak number.

Previous: As health officials investigate E. coli cases, more recalls issued

As Knox County Health Department officials work to identify the cause of three linked E. coli infections, still more ground beef recalls have been issued over the weekend.

Earlier this month, Cargill Meat Solutions and Topps Meat Company announced recalls. The Cargill ground beef was sold nationwide in Sam's Club stores.

Now, an Illinois company is recalling more than 86 tons of ground beef, some apparently sold in Sam's Club stores, over an E. coli concern. J & B Meats is recalling Topps Premium Pure Sirloin Beef Sirloin Steak Burgers, Topps 100% Pure Ground Beef Hamburgers 32 Quarter Pounders, Sam's Choice Backyard Gourmet Beef Burgers 80/20 12 Quarter Pound Round Patties, and Topps 100% Pure Ground Beef Hamburgers 12 Quarter Pounders.

You can recognize the packages by the establishment number, Est. 5712. If you suspect you have purchased recalled ground beef, you can call the company's recall hotline at (888) 734-0451.

A Georgia company, Arko Veal has also recalled ground beef patties, but the USDA reports those patties were distributed only to restaurants in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Previous: Health officials confirm three cases of E. coli linked

Knox County Health Department officials say they have conclusively linked three pediatric cases of E.coli to one another.

Four East Tennessee children have been hospitalized with the potentially life threatening bacterial infection in the past two weeks.

Officials now say three of those four cases, including a teenager and one set of young siblings, are attributable to the same strain, although officials have not yet identified the source of the infection.

Stay with WBIR and WBIR.com for more details on this developing story.