Lettuce tainted with E. coli may have been served in restaurants as recently as April 6, a week later than authorities initially stated, indicating more victims are likely to come forward in the near future, according to health authorities.
The number of people who have been afflicted climbed by 18 in the last week, to a total of 53, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in an update released Wednesday. The geographic scope of the outbreak has spread to 16 states, from a previous tally of 11. The states added to the list are California, Alaska, Montana, Arizona and Louisiana.
Thirty-one of the victims have been hospitalized, including five who were suffering from kidney failure, one of the more dangerous symptoms of ingesting E. coli 0157:H7. No deaths have been reported.
A majority of the victims had eaten salads in restaurants before getting sick, and all of the dishes contained romaine lettuce from Yuma, Ariz., the CDC said. A check of the establishments in question, which were not identified, revealed to the agency that all made their salads with chopped lettuce packaged in bags. On Friday, the CDC expanded that warning to Yuma romaine in all forms.
The agency has advised restaurants to stop serving chopped romaine lettuce from Yuma.
One of the restaurants that allegedly served the suspect lettuce was a Panera Bread in New Jersey. A customer who was hospitalized has sued Panera for the damages she suffered from what authorities say was E. coli poisoning.
The CDC had originally said the lettuce under suspicion had been served between March 6 and March 31. Individuals who ate the produce after March 29 may not yet be symptomatic, the agency indicated.
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