1 dies in E. coli outbreak
One person in California has died as a result of an E. coli outbreak that started nearly two months ago and is linked to lettuce grown in Yuma.
One person in California has died as a result of an E. coli outbreak that started nearly two months ago linked to romaine lettuce grown in Yuma and the list of affected states now has grown, federal health officials said Wednesday.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this is the first reported death linked to the outbreak since the outbreak first was reported in March.
As of Wednesday, 121 people have fell ill and 52 of them have been hospitalized across 25 states from E. coli linked to the lettuce.
Among those who have reported sickness are three people from Arizona, health officials confirm.
Federal health officials have said that Harrison Farms in Yuma was the source of whole heads of romaine lettuce sold to a prison in Nome, Alaska, where eight inmates became ill after eating the tainted lettuce.
But officials with the CDC and the
Food and Drug Administration cautioned last week that Harrison Farms so far can’t be tied to the other cases, which are still under investigation. Numerous other farms grow romaine lettuce on southwest Arizona farms around the Yuma area.
Health officials have warned people not to eat romaine lettuce unless they can confirm it didn’t come from the Yuma region.
No other information was immediately available regarding the death in California.
The Arizona Department of Health Services said last month that two people in Maricopa County and on person in Pinal County became sick from the strain of E coli.
The CDC on Wednesday added Kentucky, Massachusetts and Utah on the list of states affected, bringing the total of states to 25.
The CDC first warned of the outbreak April 10.
Some of the earliest illness were reported in March.
Among them were seven people who became ill after eating at Panera Bread restaurants in four New Jersey counties.
According to the FDA, “Most people reported eating a salad at a restaurant, and romaine lettuce was the only common ingredient identified among the salads eaten. The restaurants reported using bagged, chopped romaine lettuce to make salads.”
E. coli is the shortened name of a bacteria called Escherichia coli that is found in the environment, foods, and intestines of people and animals, according to the CDC. It can cause diarrhea, urinary-tract infections, pneumonia and kidney failure. Some strains of E. coli aren’t dangerous, but others can be fatal.
It takes an average of three to four days to get sick after eating food infected with E. coli, but it can take up to eight days.
Most people experience diarrhea, severe stomach cramps and vomiting and recover within one week.
Anyone taken ill should contact a doctor if diarrhea “lasts more than 3 days or is accompanied by high fever, blood in the stool, or so much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down and you pass very little urine,” according to the CDC.
Children younger than 5, older adults and people with weakened immune systems are more susceptible to kidney failure.