Dangerous outbreak of E. coli illness from romaine lettuce expands, with 19 states affected

By Lena H. Sun and Joel Achenbach April 25 at 3:36 PM

An additional 31 people have fallen ill from E. coli-contaminated romaine lettuce, bringing the tally to 84 cases across 19 states from an outbreak whose source is still under investigation.

Of those sickened, 42 have been hospitalized, a higher rate than usually seen in E. coli cases, and nine of those patients have developed kidney failure, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday. No deaths have been reported.

The search for the source of the outbreak is ongoing. The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration say the Yuma, Ariz., growing region is the source, but no farm has been identified. The Yuma area grows most of the lettuce harvested in the United States during the winter months, but officials say that lettuce now in stores or at restaurants is probably from California's Central Valley or Salinas Valley and has not been implicated in the outbreak.

The CDC urges consumers not to eat any romaine lettuce unless they know it is not from the Yuma area. That includes all kinds of lettuce, whether chopped, whole-head or in a salad mix. The CDC advises consumers to throw away any romaine that might be from the Yuma region even if some of it has been eaten already with no sign of illness.

The three additional states affected by the outbreak are Colorado, Georgia and South Dakota. Pennsylvania has led the nation in reported cases, with 18, followed by California with 13 and Idaho with 10. The most recent case involved a person becoming sick April 12, but the CDC notes that sicknesses since April 5 may not have been reported yet to authorities.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/04/25/dangerous-e-coli-outbreak-from-romaine-lettuce-expands-with-19-states-affected/