MADISON, Wis. -- Federal health officials are working to find the source of a multistate E. coli outbreak that has claimed the life of one Wisconsin resident.

There have been 94 cases of E. coli reported in 20 states. In Wisconsin, there are 30 reported cases -- including the only death so far.

State health officials said that in all 30 cases, the same strand of E. coli is involved, indicating that the source is likely from prewashed, bagged spinach.

Officials are warning consumers that even washing the spinach won't kill the sometimes-deadly bacteria. They are advising people to throw away any spinach they have.

The warning has been issued nationwide because it is not yet known exactly where the spinach came from or how widely it has been distributed.

"The organism can be on the outside of the vegetable. The organism can be on the inside of the vegetable. You can wash these organisms off but you may still have organisms inside," said Jeff Davis, state epidemiologist at the Department of Health and Family Services.

Of the 30 reported cases in Wisconsin, 10 are in Dane County and 17 cases have required hospitalization.

The ages of those affected range from nine to 84, and 24 of the victims are women, WISC-TV reported.

Roundy's Supermarkets is voluntarily removing all prepackaged fresh spinach from its grocery store shelves.

Roundy's stores in Wisconsin include Pick 'n Save, Copps and the Metro Market.

On Friday, Hilldale Sentry was wasting no time pulling spinach from its shelves.

"Even if there was one leaf in it, it's outta there," said Jeff Greenheck, Hilldale Sentry manager.

Greenheck said they are being extra cautious by pulling fresh spinach and salad mixes -- even though they're only required to pull the bagged ones.

At the store, no spinach will be found in the produce section until further notice, despite the certainty of lost sales.

"We sell more bagged lettuce than about anything else in this department. It really is the convenience of it," Greenheck said. "It comes in with five or six days to sell, so by the time somebody makes a decision, I mean it's all going to end up in the trash."

The specific E. coli causing the outbreak can lead to gastrointestinal illness. Symptoms include diarrhea, cramps and occasionally fever.

Death Of Manitowoc Woman Attributed To E. coli

The daughter of a Manitowoc woman who died said her mother's death is the one linked to the multistate E. coli outbreak.

Leah Duckworth of Oakland, Calif., told the Herald Times Reporter that Marion Graff, 77, died of kidney failure earlier this month at a Green Bay hospital. Duckworth said the kidney failure was caused by an E. coli infection.

State and county health officials won't say where in Wisconsin the death linked to E. coli occurred.

Gov. Jim Doyle said Friday the cases took place in nine counties. Green and Green Lake counties were added Friday to Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, Ozaukee, Dane, Manitowoc and Outagamie counties.