An E. coli in romaine lettuce outbreak has grown to 16 states, stemming from chopped lettuce coming from the Yuma, Arizona region which has left more than two dozen hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In its latest report Wednesday, the CDC said it has been notified of 53 cases connected with the outbreak, leading to 31 people being hospitalized. The agency said five of those have developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome, but no deaths.
The agency said, though, that no common grower, supplier, distributor, or brand has been identified. CNN reported that an investigation into identifying the source is ongoing.
The Miami Herald reported that the 58.4 percent hospitalization rate for the current outbreak is much higher than for of the 2016 or 2017 E. coli outbreaks.
"It's a stunningly high number of hospitalizations," food safety attorney Bill Marler told the newspaper. "It means that this particular strain of E. coli O157 is especially virulent or we are just seeing the tip of the outbreak iceberg and are only seeing the most ill at this point."
Five states – Alaska, Arizona, California, Louisiana, and Montana – were added to the list of where cases have been identified. Other states connected to the outbreak include Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington state.
"Consumers anywhere in the United States who have store-bought chopped romaine lettuce at home, including salads and salad mixes containing chopped romaine lettuce, should not eat it and should throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick," the CDC said in a statement.
"If you do not know if the lettuce is romaine, do not eat it and throw it away. Before purchasing romaine lettuce at a grocery store or eating it at a restaurant, confirm with the store or restaurant that it is not chopped romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region," the CDC said.
CNN said that Pennsylvania-based Fresh Foods Manufacturing Co. issued its own voluntary recall of ready-to-eat salads in clear plastic containers due to the potential for contamination.
Some 8,757 pounds of recalled salads were produced from April 9-12 and sold in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, CNN reported. They have the establishment number P-40211 inside the U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection mark on the package, the broadcaster stated.
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