E. coli outbreak linked to lettuce over, CDC says
Government health officials in Canada, where 42 illnesses and one death had been linked to romaine lettuce, called an end to the outbreak in that country in early January. Credit: TNS / Van Chaplin
An E. coli outbreak linked to leafy greens distributed to 15 states has been delcared over by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There were two cases of food-borne illnesses in New York related to leafy greens that had occurred by Dec. 12, the federal agency said.
CDC officials were unable to determine the source of the E. coli outbreak that sickened 25 people and killed one person in California. No recall of romaine lettuce or other vegetables was ordered.
“The likely source of the outbreak in the United States appears to be leafy greens, but the investigation did not identify a specific type of leafy greens as the source of the outbreak,” the CDC said Thursday.
A similar E. coli outbreak was reported in Canada. Government health officials there, where 42 illnesses and one death had been linked to romaine lettuce, called an end to the outbreak in that country in early January.
Given that the last illness was reported more than a month ago, the CDC declared the outbreak over as of Jan. 25.
“Leafy greens typically have a short shelf life,” the CDC said in its report. “It is likely that contaminated leafy greens linked to this outbreak are no longer available for sale.”
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
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