UPDATE: On November 20, 2019, the CDC announced a new E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce. At this time, there were 52 cases across 15 states with 19 people having been hospitalized. The CDC recommended consumers dispose of all romaine products. The investigation was reported as ongoing.
As of May 16, 2018, 172 people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 were reported from 26 states. Alaska 8, Arizona 8, California 39, Colorado 3, Connecticut 2, Florida 1, Georgia 4, Idaho 11, Illinois 2, Iowa 1, Louisiana 1, Massachusetts 3, Michigan 5, Minnesota 12, Missouri 1, Montana 8, Nebraska 1, New Jersey 8, New York 5, North Dakota 2, Ohio 6, Oregon 1, Pennsylvania 21, South Dakota 1, Tennessee 3, Texas 1, Utah 1, Virginia 1, Washington 7, and Wisconsin 3. (CDC report).
Illnesses started on dates ranging from March 13, 2018 to May 2, 2018. Ill people ranged in ages from 1 to 88 years, with a median age of 29. Sixty-five percent of ill people were female. Seventy-five ill people were hospitalized, including twenty people who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. One death was reported from California.
At the time of this report, illnesses that occurred after April 21, 2018 might have not yet been reported due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill with E. coli and when the illness is reported. This takes an average of two to three weeks.
Information collected to date indicated that romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region could be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 and could make people sick.
This outbreak was not related to a recent multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections linked to leafy greens. People in the previous outbreak were infected with a different DNA fingerprint of E. coli O157:H7 bacteria.
E. coli lawyers at Marler Clark represent over 100 of the victims in this outbreak, achieving settlements covering medical expenses, wage loss, and pain and suffering. At this time, the majority of cases are still undergoing litigation.