Over the past seven weeks, 58 people in the U.S. and Canada were identified as ill from a dangerous strain of E. coli bacteria (0157:H7). In the U.S., the infections have occurred in 13 states with five people hospitalized and one dying, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Of the 41 confirmed victims in Canada, 17 have required hospitalization and one has died. E. coli (0157:H7) produces a toxin that causes acute diarrheal illness and—in a small proportion of cases—can lead to serious illness, kidney failure, and even death.
On Dec. 28, the CDC released a statement saying that state and local public health officials are interviewing sick people to determine what they had eaten and were still collecting information to determine whether there was a food item in common. CDC investigators have confirmed through whole genome sequencing that the E. coli O157:H7 sickening people in Canada has the same DNA fingerprint as the pathogen infecting people in the United States. Officials in both countries say that makes it most likely that a common source food is involved, according to Food Safety News.
At this time, case investigations in both countries suggest an epidemiologic association with eating romaine lettuce, a leafy green that is typically served in fresh salads. Romaine-lettuce-associated illnesses have occurred in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont, and Washington state. Romaine lettuce can have a shelf life of up to five weeks, so it is possible that some contaminated lettuce might still be in consumers’ refrigerators.
FoodWorld 