An E. coli outbreak among children who attend Galena Elementary School may not have come from a source inside or close to the school.

DNA test results have shown a link between the strain of the E. coli in the Galena cases with an isolated case reported outside the county in August.

“This finding suggests that outbreak strain may have been circulating in the community or the environment prior to the outbreak,” says Dr. Tom Harris, Floyd County health officer. “Some cases do not attend Galena Elementary School nor reside in Floyd County.”

State and county health officials would not identify the location of the isolated case.