The number of E. coli cases in Ontario has increased to 159. According to a health official, the number includes both confirmed and suspected cases of the infection.

"The latest is that we have 159 cases as of this morning. Of those, 26 are lab confirmed," said Dr. Catherine Whiting, medical officer of health at North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit.

The number of confirmed and suspected cases of E. coli poisoning linked to the Harvey's restaurant on Algonquin Avenue in North Bay, about 300 kilometres north of Toronto.  The last Thursday the count was 93 but it plummeted to  131 the next day.

"I think we can see that the rate of increase is definitely less than it was at the beginning of the outbreak, but I do anticipate we will still see more cases, probably because the incubation period is up to 10 days," she told CBC News on Saturday.

19 people had been admitted to hospital. Two of these were still under treatment.

"Our understanding is that everyone is doing well," Whiting told CBC News on Sunday. "There are only a couple of people left in the hospital, and the majority of them have recovered or are recovering at home."
 

The outbreak is the largest of its kind in Ontario since May 2000 in which seven people died and about 2,500 others fell ill tainted water.