State health officials are now investigating 24 possible E. coli cases that have been unofficially linked to the N.C. State Fair. Now, two of those cases are in Eastern Carolina.

The News and Observer reports that there have been eight confirmed cases so far. Officials have not released if those are the two reported from Wilson County.

So far, five people have been hospitalized and three people have suffered kidney failure because of the illness.

The majority of cases have been in Wake County, with 11 reported. Seven cases have been reported in Sampson County, and Durham, Orange, Johnston and Cleveland counties have one case each.

Previous Story

The investigation into an E. coli outbreak has now spread to Eastern Carolina.

The North Carolina Division of Public Health now says there are 26 suspected cases, 10 of those are confirmed. One of those suspected E. coli cases is in Wilson County.

The state says five people, including four children, remain hospitalized. So far, 23 of the 26 victims say they had attended the State Fair as public health investigators continue to consider the fair as the probable cause of the outbreak.

Of the 26 cases, 13 are adults and 13 are under the age of 18. Wake County has 14 possible cases, followed by Sampson with 6, and Cleveland, Durham, Franklin, Johnston, Orange and Wilson with one suspected case each.