On Thursday the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that Valley Meats LLC of Coal Valley, Illinois began a recall of nearly 96,000 pounds of ground beef products after three people became sick from E. Coli in the Cleveland, Ohio area. The USDA said that illnesses related to the recalled meat have also been reported in Pennsylvania and Illinois.

Last week the Ohio Department of Health alerted federal officials that three individuals - a 3-year-old girl, a 24-year-old man, and a 71-year-old man - with no connection to each other were ill from E. coli bacteria featuring the same genetic footprint. A spokesman says that two of the three were hospitalized and all are now recovered.

Officials from the Cleveland Health Department are also now investigating the death of a 7-year-old girl - a student at Westpark Community School on Lorain Road - who died as a result of E.coli. They are trying to determine if there is a link between the recalled beef and her death.

Most of the recalled meat is preformed patties under various brand names. For more information on the recalled products, please visit this USDA webpage.