E. Coli Spinach Cases Rise to 173

An unidentified shopper reaches for bagged lettuce while a produce employee restocks the shelf at a grocery store in Berkeley, Calif. on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2006. The E. coli outbreak spread to two more U.S. states Wednesday, and investigators reported finding contaminated spinach in the refrigerator of one victim. The outbreak has sickened at least 146 people in 23 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One person has died and 76 others have been hospitalized, some with kidney failure.(AP Photo/Benjamin Sklar) (Benjamin Sklar - AP)

WASHINGTON -- Two more cases of illness were blamed Sunday on the outbreak of E. coli linked to fresh spinach, raising the number of people sickened to 173, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

So far, 92 people have been hospitalized, including a Wisconsin woman who died. Two other deaths have been reported in suspected cases _ a child in Idaho and an elderly woman in Maryland _ but those cases are still being investigated.

Since the outbreak was reported two weeks ago, the Food and Drug Administration has recommended people not eat fresh, raw spinach. State and federal investigators since have traced the contaminated spinach back to three counties in California's Salinas Valley.

On Friday, officials said spinach grown anywhere outside that area is safe to eat _ but industry needs to figure out how to let consumers know the origin of what they're buying before the green can return to sale, said Dr. David Acheson of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

The 25 states that have reported infections are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.