At least one Ohio case was recorded as part of the outbreak when a 24-year-old woman in Mahoning County was hospitalized. She has since been released, according to the Ohio Department of Public Health.
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Nearly 200 people from about 36 states have been sickened by the outbreak that was first discovered in mid-March, reports The Washington Post. Nearly half of the people sickened by the E. coli have been hospitalized, according to the CDC.
Around 26 people developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a form of kidney failure that can be life-threatening to someone with weakend immune systems such as children and the elderly, according to The Post. The majority of people who fell ill from the outbreak live in California.
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E. coli is a bacteria found in raw beef, raw milk, some cheeses, raw fruits and vegetables and contaminated water. Most E. coli bacteria is not considered harmful, but one type produces a toxin called which eliminates red blood cells, and causes kidney failure and bloody diarrhea, The Post reports.
This latest E. coli outbreak marks the worst since 2006, when around 205 people became ill and five died after contracting E. coli from baby spinach, according to The Post.
Federal investigators have determined the E. coli came from contaminated lettuce grown in Arizona’s Yuma region but they have not been able to link the outbreak to a specific farm.
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