By Tracy Turner
I’m confused about the recent reports regarding leafy greens such as romaine lettuce. How is it that leafy greens can cause a foodborne illness?
Well, it is not the leafy greens themselves making people sick, but rather that they are the suspected source of pathogenic E. coli that has sickened some 58 people in Canada.
Several people in the United States have also become ill from a strain of E. coli that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says is closely related genetically to the strain that caused the outbreak in Canada. In fact, 24 such illnesses have been reported in 15 states, including Ohio, between Nov. 15 and Dec. 12, 2017, the CDC said this week.
The likely source of the outbreak in the United States appears to be leafy greens, the CDC said, noting that the agency has not identified a single type or brand associated with the outbreak. Their investigation is ongoing and includes interviewing sick people to determine what they ate in the weeks before their illnesses started, the agency said in a written statement.
“Preliminary results show that the type of E. coli making people sick in both countries is closely related genetically, meaning the ill people are more likely to share a common source of infection,” the CDC statement said.
While Canadian authorities have warned about romaine lettuce consumption, the CDC states that “because we have not identified a source of the infections, CDC is unable to recommend whether U.S. residents should avoid a particular food.”
However, the CDC statement notes that “leafy greens typically have a short shelf life, and since the last illness started a month ago, it is likely that contaminated leafy greens linked to this outbreak are no longer available for sale.”
The illness in question is a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 infections. This strain of E. coli can produce a toxin that in some cases can cause serious illness, kidney failure or death. Thus far, at least five people in the United States have been hospitalized and one has died, according to the CDC. There has also been at least one death in Canada also, according to Consumer Reports.