US - Nearly 100 Sick From Romaine Lettuce E. Coli Outbreak

U.S. health officials have been investigating a major outbreak of E. coli stemming from contaminated Romaine Lettuce. So far the tainted greens have affected 98 people in 22 states with varying degrees of severity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 14 new cases were registered on Friday alone. The outbreak has been devastating for those infected, ten of whom have kidney failure and another 46 remain hospitalized.

Related coverage: <a href="https://thegoldwater.com/news/23705-CDC-Issues-E-Coli-Warning-For-All-Romaine-Lettuce">CDC Issues E Coli Warning For All Romaine Lettuce</a>

The CDC is still rooting out the exact source of the outbreak with dozens of farms under investigation. One 16-year-old girl in California was rushed to the hospital with severe pain and was diagnosed with kidney failure as a result of the E. coli outbreak. "She was trying to cut out junk food and be healthier," her mother said. Tests confirmed the deadly strain of Escherichia coli O157:H7 bacteria was present.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">E. coli Outbreak Update: Based on new data, CDC advises throwing away whole heads of romaine and hearts of romaine, plus chopped romaine and salad mixes, from Yuma, Arizona growing region. <a href="https://t.co/WTdyf3IWsY">https://t.co/WTdyf3IWsY</a> <a href="https://t.co/F1RHsL3rt4">pic.twitter.com/F1RHsL3rt4</a></p>&mdash; CDC (@CDCgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/CDCgov/status/987435954565734400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Escherichia coli O157:H7 produces a type of toxin that causes more severe illness. The bacteria can work quickly with most noticing systems in about three to four days after becoming infected but the start time can range from one to 14 days. One common cause of infection is eating vegetables or fruit that came in contact with guts or feces of infected animals. The warning for the outbreak prompted a series of jokes about how surprised people were to be warned off lettuce and healthy eating.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">How are salads supposed to be heathy if they try to kill us all the time 🙄 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EColi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EColi</a></p>&mdash; Brianna Listermann (@brii3) <a href="https://twitter.com/brii3/status/987789102555844613?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2018</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ate a salad at <a href="https://twitter.com/Nordstrom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Nordstrom</a> tonight and just remembered I am NOT SUPPOSED TO EAT LETTUCE 😕 does <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EColi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EColi</a> kill you or will I just get sick, miss some work and maybe lose some weight🤷🏼‍♀️? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SOS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SOS</a></p>&mdash; Meghan Ellis (@MeghanEllis1) <a href="https://twitter.com/MeghanEllis1/status/988967386001879042?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2018</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Threw out my romaine lettuce salad and somehow endured. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Romaine?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Romaine</a> <a href="https://t.co/tY6jTtW8qS">pic.twitter.com/tY6jTtW8qS</a></p>&mdash; Carl Gottlieb (@c_cgottlieb) <a href="https://twitter.com/c_cgottlieb/status/987505217834045441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43931371