YUMA, Ariz. (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control says a multistate E. coli outbreak that has sickened nearly three dozen people is linked to lettuce grown in Arizona.
The CDC said Friday that 35 people across 11 states have become ill from chopped romaine lettuce from Yuma.
The CDC says one person has become ill from the lettuce in Washington.
Twenty-two of them have been hospitalized, including three with kidney failure. No deaths have been reported.
The agency has not identified a common grower, supplier, distributor or brand.
The CDC advises consumers "anywhere in the United States who have store-bought chopped romaine lettuce at home, including salads and salad mixes containing chopped romaine lettuce, should not eat it and should throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick. If you do not know if the lettuce is romaine, do not eat it and throw it away. Before purchasing romaine lettuce at a grocery store or eating it at a restaurant, consumers should confirm with the store or restaurant that it is not chopped romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona, growing region. If you cannot confirm the source of the romaine lettuce, do not buy it or eat it."
It says restaurants and stores "should not serve or sell any chopped romaine lettuce, including salads and salad mixes containing chopped romaine lettuce, from the Yuma, Arizona, growing region. Restaurants and retailers should ask their suppliers about the source of their chopped romaine lettuce."
Symptoms of E. coli infection include diarrhea, severe stomach cramps and vomiting.
Yuma is about 185 miles (298 kilometers) southwest of Phoenix.
Yuma bills itself as the "winter lettuce capital" and hosts an annual Lettuce Festival.