Pumpkin Farm Closed After E. coli Sickens Five

A grim one, and I'll keep it plain. Brookshire Farms, a pumpkin patch in San Luis Obispo County, California, is closed for the season after county health officials confirmed five Shiga toxin-producing E. coli cases tied to visits there. It closed voluntarily Tuesday. Three infected children are hospitalized in serious condition in a pediatric ICU. Anyone who visited between Oct. 16 and Oct. 26 should watch for symptoms, which typically appear three to 10 days after exposure. Young children are at highest risk. The source has not been identified, and test results are still pending. The owner says the farm is cooperating with the investigation. Our prayers are with those three families. If you were there, call a doctor at the first sign of trouble.