April 29 (UPI) — The E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce grown in Arizona has affected 14 more people and three more states, bringing the new total to 98 people in 22 states, an update shows.
As of Friday, 46 of the 98 infected people have been hospitalized, including some with a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an update. No deaths have been reported.
The three states to most recently report ill people are Mississippi, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
The CDC has issued a series of reports since data indicated that romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Ariz., growing region could be contaminated with E. coli.
The CDC advises people not to eat or buy romaine lettuce unless they can confirm its not from Yuma.
“We do expect more reports of illness since there is a two-week delay between when a person becomes ill and when they are confirmed to be part of an outbreak,” deputy branch chief Matthew Wise, of the CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, said in a CNN report.
