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4 new states, including Florida, report illnesses from romaine lettuce

The E. Coli outbreak has spread to 29 states now.
Credit: Thinkstock
Romaine Lettuce sliced

The E. coli outbreak from romaine lettuce that has sickened people in several U.S. states and has led to one death has now affected at least one person in Florida.

According to the CDC, 28 more people from 12 states have gotten sick since the last update on May 2. Four new sates have reported people getting sick, including Florida. The other new states were Minnesota, North Dakota and Texas.

In all there were 149 cases of people getting sick in 29 states. There was one death.

This all stems from romaine lettuce grown in or near Yuma, Arizona.

From the CDC…

  • Information collected to date indicates that romaine lettuce from the Yuma growing region could be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 and could make people sick.
  • Advice to Consumers:
    • Do not eat or buy romaine lettuce unless you can confirm it is not from the Yuma growing region. Romaine lettuce has a shelf life of several weeks, and contaminated lettuce could still be in homes, stores, and restaurants.
    • Product labels often do not identify growing regions; so, do not eat or buy romaine lettuce if you do not know where it was grown.
    • This advice includes whole heads and hearts of romaine, chopped romaine, baby romaine, organic romaine, and salads and salad mixes containing romaine lettuce. If you do not know if the lettuce in a salad mix is romaine, do not eat it.
  • Advice to Restaurants and Retailers:
    • Do not serve or sell any romaine lettuce from the Yuma growing region. This includes whole heads and hearts of romaine, chopped romaine, baby romaine, organic romaine, and salads and salad mixes containing romaine lettuce.
    • Restaurants and retailers should ask their suppliers about the source of their romaine lettuce.
  • Advice to Clinicians:
    • Antibiotics are not recommended for patients with suspected E. coli O157 infections until diagnostic testing can be performed and E. coli O157 infection is ruled out.
  • CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the FDA are investigating a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7) infections.
  • 149 people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 have been reported from 29 states.
    • 64 people have been hospitalized, including 17 people who have developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome.
    • One death was reported from California.
  • This investigation is ongoing, and CDC will provide updates when more information is available.

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