Three More States Report Cases in Multistate Outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 Infections Linked to 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. Thirty-one more ill people from 10 states were added to this investigation since the last update on April 18, 2018. 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. 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. The investigation has not identified a common grower, supplier, distributor, or brand of romaine lettuce.

Advice to Consumers:
- 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:
- 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.

Source: CDC