OMAHA ? An elderly woman who died in late August was infected with E. coli after eating fresh spinach, bringing to three the number of people who have perished in a nationwide outbreak of the bacteria, health officials said Friday.

The 84-year-old woman ate spinach contaminated with the same strain of E. coli that has sickened at least 190 other people around the country, state health officials and her family’s attorney said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that the woman’s death had been linked to the outbreak.

Ruby Trautz from Sarpy County died of acute kidney failure after eating the contaminated spinach, said her family’s attorney, Bill Marler.