E. Coli Contaminated Romaine Lettuce Reported In IL & WI

98 cases of E. coli (O157:H7) contaminated romaine lettuce from Yuma, Arizona have been reported, sending 46 individuals to hospitals - ten with kidney failure, but no death reports as of this writing. According to the CDC, the infected lettuce has been reported in Illinois and Wisconsin. Almost a dozen more people have become ill due to E. coli contaminated lettuce in the last week. So why the delay in updates?

The most recent illness started on April 20, 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.

States Affected By E. coli Reported Romaine Lettuce (as of 05/01/2018)

CDC.gov

What You Need To Know (via CDC)

- 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, 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.

Restaurants and retailers have been advised on steps to keep the contaminated romaine lettuce from consumers. (Click here to read more.)

Signs and Symptoms Associated With E. Coli

Diarrhea: Most people recover within 1 week. Some infections are very mild, but others are severe or even life-threatening.)
- Bloody
- Severe stomach cramps
- Vomiting
- Kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS): most common in persons 5 or year or 65 and older.
- Decreased frequency of urination
- Feeling very tired, and
- Losing pink color in cheeks and inside the lower eyelids.

[H/T CDC.gov]

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