Health experts have cautioned people about possible risks of eating romaine lettuce amid reports that a dangerous strain of E. coli has left 58 people ill in the U.S. and Canada during the past seven weeks, Consumer Reports noted.
Romaine lettuce is the suspected culprit for spreading the E. coli strain O157:H7 to 13 states: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont and Washington.
The Consumers Union noted that, in the U.S., five people have been hospitalized and one has died while in Canada another death has been reported.
Canadian health authorities said that the E. coli infections in the Eastern provinces were linked with the consumption of romaine lettuce and have urged people to choose other types of salad greens until further notice.
Meanwhile in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement that they were conducting investigations to determine whether the outbreak was linked to the illnesses in Canada.
"Even though we can't say with 100 percent certainty that romaine lettuce is the cause of the E. coli outbreak in the U.S., a greater degree of caution is appropriate given that lettuce is almost always consumed raw," said James Rogers, Ph.D., Director of Food Safety and Research at Consumer Reports.
"While anyone can get sick if they are infected with this strain of E. coli, young children, the elderly, and anyone who has a condition that weakens the immune system, such as cancer or diabetes, are at a greater risk," he added, per Food Safety News.
People infected with E. coli can have a wide range of symptoms that include nausea, vomiting, fever and severe stomach cramps, the Public Health Agency of Canada noted in a statement.
In some cases individuals may develop life-threatening symptoms that include stroke, kidney failure and seizures that could result in death.
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