The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised U.S. consumers Tuesday not to eat any romaine lettuce and retailers and restaurants not to serve or sell any of the lettuce until authorities learn more about the source of the outbreak in E. coli-related illnesses.
Thirty-two people in 11 U.S. states and 18 people in two Canadian provinces in illnesses reported between Oct. 8 and Oct. 31. One ill person developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. No deaths have been reported in association with the outbreak.
There have been no cases of illness associated with this outbreak in Iowa, but Iowans are included in the nationwide safety alert advising not to eat any form of Romaine lettuce.
Consumers who have any type of romaine lettuce in their home should not eat it but should throw it away even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick. This advice includes all types or uses of romaine lettuce, such as whole heads of romaine, hearts of romaine and bags and boxes of precut lettuce and salad mixes that contain romaine, including baby romaine, spring mix and Caesar salad.
If you do not know whether the lettuce is romaine or whether a salad mix contains romaine, do not eat it and throw it away.
Wash and sanitize drawers or shelves in refrigerators where the romaine lettuce was stored.
Restaurants and retailers should not serve or sell any romaine lettuce, including salads and salad mixes containing romaine.
Take the following actions if you have symptoms of an E. coli infection:
- Talk to your healthcare provider.
- Write down what you ate in the week before you started to get sick.
- Report your illness to the health department.
- Assist public health investigators by answering questions about your illness.
For more information, contact the Iowa Department of Public Health at 515-281-7689.
