The petting zoo that was scheduled to come to the Mower County Fair this year is the source of an E. coli outbreak that has infected 13 people.

The Minnesota Department of Health said Tuesday that seven of the people have been hospitalized with the infection originating at the Zerebko Zoo Tran petting zoo. The exhibit has been suspended as officials investigate.

The Mower fair was scheduled to host the Zerebko Zoo Tran petting zoo, but it was canceled after health officials advised against it this year due to the health issues raised at previous events, according to Mower County Fair Board President Neal Anderson.

“We had a contract with them to come to the Mower County Fair, and through the State Department of Health they suggested we not have them come to the fair this year,” Anderson said.

This was the first year the Mower fair was scheduled to have a petting zoo. Anderson said fair board members are unsure of what they will do in the future, but they are keeping their options open.

“We don’t really have any firm plan right now,” Anderson said. “I guess we’ll just have to kind of evaluate our fair and maybe look at our options for next year.”

At least 10 of the cases involved people ages 2-68 who had contact with Zerebko’s animals at fairs or a festival in July. Two more cases involved people who had been in contact with attendees of the Rice County Fair.

Two of the hospitalized people developed a severe complication that affects kidney function. One remains hospitalized.

A health department epidemiologist says the public should be aware that even healthy, well-tended animals can make people sick.

Seven cases were reported at the Rice County Fair, three were reported at the Olmsted County Fair, one was reported at the Polk County Fair and another was reported at Nashwauk’s Fourth of July Festival, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

—The Associated Press contributed to this report.