Brand of cheese sold at Costco linked to E. coli infections

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — A brand of cheese sold at Costco stores has been linked to E. coli infections in five states, the mass merchandise chain, the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Thursday.

The three said that customers should not eat Bravo Farms Dutch Style Gouda (pronounced “GHOW-duh”) cheese offered for sale and at cheese-sampling events at Costco Wholesale stores, and that customers who have purchased it should not eat it. As of Thursday, 25 people in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and California had been infected.

Most people with E. coli develop diarrhea and stomach cramps and recover within a week, but some may develop more severe infections, and rare cases of a type of kidney failure known as hemolytic uremic syndrome can occur.