CDC: 4/25 Update on E. coli Outbreak Associated with Romaine Lettuce

There are now 84 cases of E. coli infection with 42 hospitalizations related to the romaine lettuce from Yuma AZ.  Cases have occurred in 19 different states.   CDC recommends against eating any form of romaine lettuce unless you can verify that it is from an area other than Yuma.

How hard is it to determine where your romaine is from?  Probably not easy. 
Unfortunately, this will be a big impact on all those who farm or process romaine.

https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-04-18/index.html
Multistate Outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 Infections Linked to Romaine Lettuce

Posted April 25, 2018 2:30 PM EST
At A Glance

Case Count: 84(https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-04-18/epi.html)
States: 19(https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-04-18/map.html)
Deaths: 0
Hospitalizations: 42
Recall: No


What's New?

Thirty-one more ill people from 10 states were added to this investigation since the last update on April 18, 2018.
Three more states have reported ill people: Colorado, Georgia, and South Dakota.
The most recent illness started on April 12, 2018. Illnesses that occurred in the last two to three weeks might not yet be reported because of the time between when a person becomes ill with E. coli and when the illness is reported to CDC.


Highlights

Information collected to date indicates that romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region could be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 and could make people sick.
The investigation has not identified a common grower, supplier, distributor, or brand of romaine lettuce.
Advice to Consumers(https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-04-18/advice-consumers.html):
Do not eat or buy romaine lettuce unless you can confirm it is not from the Yuma, Arizona, growing region.
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, 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(https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-04-18/advice-consumers.html):
Do not serve or sell any romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region. This includes whole heads and hearts of romaine, chopped romaine, and salads and salad mixes containing romaine lettuce.
Restaurants and retailers should ask their suppliers about the source of their romaine lettuce.
CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are investigating a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7) infections.
Eighty-four people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 have been reported from 19 states.
Forty-two people have been hospitalized, including nine people who have developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome.
No deaths have been reported.
This investigation is ongoing, and CDC will provide updates when more information is available.

April 25, 2018

Case Count Update

Since the last update on April 18, 2018, 31 more people were added to this outbreak.

As of April 25, 2018, 84 people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 have been reported from 19 states. A list of the states and the number of cases in each can be found on the Case Count Map page(https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-04-18/map.html). Illnesses started on dates ranging from March 13, 2018 to April 12, 2018(https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-04-18/epi.html). Ill people range in age from 1 to 88 years, with a median age of 31. Sixty-five percent of ill people are female. Forty-two ill people have been hospitalized, including nine people who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. No deaths have been reported.

Illnesses that occurred after April 5, 2018, might not yet be reported due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill with E. coli and when the illness is reported. This takes an average of two to three weeks(https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/reporting-timeline.html).
Investigation Update

State and local health officials continue to interview ill people to ask about the foods they ate and other exposures before they became ill. Sixty-four (96%) of 67 people interviewed reported eating romaine lettuce in the week before their illness started. This percentage is significantly higher than results from a survey[787 KB](https://www.cdc.gov/foodnet/surveys/FNExpAtl03022011.pdf) of healthy people in which 46% reported eating romaine lettuce in the week before they were interviewed.

Information collected to date indicates that romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region could be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 and could make people sick. Read CDC’s advice(https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-04-18/advice-consumers.html) to consumers, restaurants, and retailers.

This investigation is ongoing, and CDC will provide more information as it becomes available.