The E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce grown in Arizona has boomed to 149 cases in 29 states, though the death toll has not risen from the one reported last week, the Centers for Disease Control said Wednesday.
That’s an increase of 28 sick people since the last update one week ago. To date, 64 people have been hospitalized — 17 of them for a type of acute kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome. The lone death was in California.
Health officials have tied the E. coli outbreak to romaine lettuce grown in Yuma, Arizona, which provides most of the romaine sold in the U.S. during the winter. The growing season in Yuma ended about a month ago, said the University of Arizona’s Russell Engel, the director of Yuma County’s cooperative extension service, but investigators have yet to isolate a possible brand or supplier.
The outbreak has now affected people in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York and nearly half the rest of the U.S. states. The most cases have been reported in California (30), followed by Pennsylvania (20) and Idaho (11). To date, New Jersey has eight cases — an increase of one from the last CDC update — New York has four (an increase of two) and Connecticut has two.
Patients across the nation range in age from 1 to 88, with the median being 30. Sixty-five percent are female and 50 percent of the noted cases have involved hospitalizations. Ninety-one person of 112 people interviewed reported eating romaine lettuce in the week before their illnesses started, compared with 46 percent of healthy people.
The CDC has warned to avoid eating any lettuce that may have been grown in Arizona and reiterated that warning on Wednesday.
But even if no one is eating tainted lettuce now, case counts may still rise because there’s a lag in reporting. The first illnesses occurred in March, and the most recent began on April 25, the CDC said.
Most E. coli bacteria are not harmful, but some produce toxins that can cause severe illness. People who get sick from toxin-producing E. coli come down with symptoms about three to four days after swallowing the germ, with many suffering bloody diarrhea, severe stomach cramps and vomiting.
Most people recover within a week, but some illnesses can last longer and be more severe.
(AP)
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2 Responses
I have commented before, and am shocked at lack of progress.
1. Get samples from all suppliers
2. Remember. The problem with grapes several years ago. One country was “clean..” All of a sudden, every sales outlet claimed that count ry was their source. A quick investigation revealed that the clean country did not ship as much in the previous year to supply what allegedly came in that MONTH.
3. Why would a user in Arizona have allegedly gotten lettuce from California?
Why is this going on so long? Who is being protected y govt incompetence? Hamayvin Yavin!
In case no one has noticed, the current Federal government is entirely Republican and has been in office for almost a year and a half. No blaming things on the “lib-dems” now. Get on the phone/write a letter/send an email to your Senator and Congressman and tell them to tell the FDA to get on the job – which includes giving it enough money to do so. Let them know that they can’t count on the troops being loyal no matter what happens. If you don’t want to vote Democrat, just tell them that you won’t vote at all rather than vote for someone who doesn’t protect the people who elected them.
There are Republicans and Republicans. “He’s not a liberal!” isn’t enough. He has to be an old-fashioned Republican who actually cares about the people in his district. And if your state hasn’t had its primary yet, get informed and let the candidates know they have to pay attention to the welfare of the people, not just their media coverage. When I lived in Israel back in the day, there was a mini-cholera outbreak every summer caused by vegetables grown in the West Bank. The health ministry started a “Your health is in your hands,” campaign to get people to wash their veggies properly.
Well, it’s true. Our health IS in our hands, and it starts with making sure the people we elect are doing their job of serving the people, not just the lobbyists and donors.