In 2018 the North Carolina Division of Public Health (NC DPH) investigated an outbreak of Enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC). NC DPH partnered with the local health department and the CDC to investigate the outbreak. Illnesses occurred in members of an ethnic Nepali refugee community in Charlotte who attended a potluck on June 30, 2018. Among approximately 100 attendees, 52 met the case definition. Twenty eight were hospitalized. All patients recovered and there were no secondary cases identified. Specimens from 23 patients were submitted to the CDC, where a molecular guided approach was used for the isolation of Shigella/EIEC. Colonies positive for ipaH, the terget gene for Shigella/EIEC, were identified as EIEC O8:H19 in specimens from 12 patients.

Participants reported eating chicken curry, vegetable curry, rice, lentil soup, fried bread, cold and hot salads and cake. No single item was statistically significantly associated with illness. No food was available for testing. No person interviewed reported recent travel.