As of April 25, 2018, 84 people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 have been reported from 19 states. Alaska 5, Arizona 5, California 13, Colorado 2, Connecticut 2, Georgia 1, Idaho 10, Illinois 1, Louisiana 1, Michigan 2, Missouri 1, Montana 7, New Jersey 7, New York 2, Ohio 3, Pennsylvania 18, South Dakota 1, Virginia 1, Washington 2.
Illnesses started on dates ranging from March 13, 2018 to April 12, 2018. Ill people range in age from 1 to 88 years, with a median age of 31. Sixty-five percent of ill people are female. Forty-two ill people have been hospitalized, including nine people who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure.
Illnesses that occurred after April 5, 2018, might not yet be 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.
State and local health officials continue to interview ill people to ask about the foods they ate and other exposures before they became ill. Sixty-four (96%) of 67 people interviewed reported eating romaine lettuce in the week before their illness started.
Information collected to date indicates that romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region could be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 and could make people sick.