Romaine Still Under Quarantine

Death by salad. It’s not the title of a recently found Agatha Christie and thankfully not yet the outcome of the most recent produce-bin-clearing announcement from the Centers for Disease Control. Two days before Thanksgiving, the CDC warned consumers not to eat romaine, which has been linked to 43 cases of Escherichia coli infection in 12 states, and 22 in three Canadian provinces. One person suffered kidney failure, and 16 were hospitalized due to a bacteria identified as E. coli 0157:H7, which causes persistent diarrhea and vomiting. So far, Santa Barbara County has not had any patients with this most-recent bout of contamination, County Public Health announced today.

In June, the same E. coli strain caused five deaths linked to Yuma, Arizona-grown romaine, though the CDC stated the two outbreaks are “not related.” It does find a relationship between the current outbreak and one a year ago involving “leafy greens” that lasted from about November 5, 2017 to January 25, 2018. In that outbreak, one Californian died, nine in the U.S. were hospitalized, and 25 infected.

The Centers for Disease Control narrowed down the current contamination on Monday to “Central Coastal growing regions” of Northern and Central California, which includes Santa Barbara County whose romaine harvests are concluded for the most part. The CDC Safety Alert states romaine grown outside the Central Coast — or in places like the desert areas in California’s Imperial and Riverside counties; near Yuma, Arizona; or in Florida and Mexico — are not part of the outbreak, nor is romaine grown hydroponically or in greenhouses.