Misti Crane of the Columbus Dispatch reports this morning that federal health officials will investigate an outbreak of E. coli O145 with cases involving college students in Michigan, New York and Ohio.

Because E. coli O145, a relative of the more common shiga-toxin producing E. coli O157:H7, is not routinely tested for, health types hope an epidemiological investigation will help pinpoint the suspected food vehicle.

In Feb. 1995, E. coli O111 took the life of a 4-year-old in Australia as part of an outbreak linked to fermented sausage. And in Aug. 2008, E. coli O111 was responsible for hundreds of illnesses and the death of 26-year-old Chad Ingle (right) who had all dined at the Country Cottage restaurant in Locust Grove, Oklahoma.