Romaine lettuce contamination possibly towards conclusion says CDC

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDMay 17 2018

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a report titled, “Multistate Outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 Infections Linked to Romaine Lettuce”, stating that it is safe to consume romaine lettuce which was implicated in transmitting a toxic strain of E. coli since March this year.

Green Romain or cos lettuce plant. Image Credit: Kwangmoozaa / Shutterstock

This present outbreak was due to contaminated romaine lettuce that was grown in Yuma, Ariz., growing region. During the winter months this contaminated lettuce reached throughout the country. According to this new report the last lot harvested was on April 16th. Over the last two months after the alarm was raised the greens industry was shifted to California.

According to the news release, “Romaine lettuce from the Yuma growing region is past its shelf life and is probably no longer being sold in stores or served in restaurants.” The CDC added in the release that the cases still being reported are from the lettuce that is still in circulation or remains in the home refrigerators. As such the contaminated lettuce should be past its “sell-by” date they report. They said in their statement, “It takes two to three weeks between when a person becomes ill with E. coli and when the illness is reported to CDC… The most recent illnesses reported to CDC started when romaine lettuce from the Yuma growing region was probably still available in stores, restaurants, and in peoples’ homes.” At present they advise people that if they are not sure of where their lettuce has come from, they need not throw it out.

Till the 15th of May 2018, in the 32 states country wide, 172 people were taken ill. This was an increase of 23 people from the week before. Till date one death has been reported and 75 hospitalizations have been noted. During this outbreak 20 people developed kidney failure due to the infection. The infective strain during this outbreak that was implicated is O157:H7. It produces Shiga toxin. This toxin is capable of causing serious diarrhoea and vomiting. In serious cases it can lead to a form of kidney failure known as hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Since the start of this outbreak, the CDC as well as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have been trying to ascertain the cause or origin of this contamination and traced it back to a single farm in Yuma. This lettuce first caused illness in eight prisoners in Alaska. According to FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement yesterday that this is a complicated case. He tweeted, “ruled out that the contamination was caused by just one farm suggesting it was a complex problem and will take further time to investigate.” The FDA has added that they are trying to determine the cause of this outbreak and are trying to improve the food safety system.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, several people in the Canadian provinces have also been infected with E. coli that has the same DNA makeup of the E. coli O157:H7.