Jose Rodriguez of Columbus Public Health said the case was removed from the list because of an unmatched DNA pattern and investigative evidence.

As of noon on Friday, 17 cases of illness due to E. coli O157:H7 have been reported in central Ohio as part of the outbreak in Ohio and Michigan.

Columbus Public Health said that people who have been sickened with the bacteria experienced symptoms from June 2-20.

The Ohio Department of Health said there have been 22 confirmed and probable cases of the illness in Ohio linked to the outbreak.

A raw beef sample sold at Gahanna's Kroger Marketplace tested positive this week for E. coli O157:H7, 10TV News reported.

The Ohio departments of Health and Agriculture confirmed that the tainted beef is linked to the outbreak in Ohio and Michigan.

Rodriguez told 10TV News that health experts are worried because that the outbreak will continue because people have ground beef in their freezer and may still continue to thaw and eat it.

On Wednesday, Kroger announced that it is recalling all ground beef products sold between May 21 and June 8, including all varieties and weights of ground beef bearing a Kroger label sold at stores in Michigan and Columbus and Toledo.

Kroger is asking customers to check their freezers for ground beef products - regardless of packaging - with sell-by dates of May 21 through June 8 and return them to stores for a full refund or replacement.

Customers with questions about the recall should contact the Kroger Consumer Hotline at 800-632-6900.

Stay with 10TV News and refresh 10TV.com for continuing coverage.

Previous Stories:

June 26, 2008: 2 More E. coli Cases Reported
June 25, 2008:  Kroger Recalls Ground Beef
June 24, 2008: E. Coli Found In Locally Sold Ground Beef
June 23, 2008: Central Ohio E. coli Cases Up To 16
June 20, 2008: Another Central Ohio Case Of E. coli Confirmed
June 19, 2008:  Health Department Links More E. coli Cases
June 17, 2007: 12th Case Of E.coli Reported
June 16, 2008: 4 More Cases Of E. coli Confirmed
June 12, 2008: Another E. Coli Case Confirmed
June 11, 2008: 6 E. Coli Cases Under Investigation

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