What Is E. Coli And How Can I Protect Myself?

A nationwide outbreak of food poisoning from E. Coli has raised concerns for some people.

The culprit of the latest outbreak, Romaine lettuce grown in Yuma Arizona. At least 121 cases of E. Coli reported thus far and at least one person has died.

To avoid getting sick from the outbreak, doctors say you should avoid buying Romaine lettuce from suppliers that have grown in the Arizona region.

Cookeville Regional Medical Center Infectious Disease Specialist, Stephanie Etter, said in general you should not consume Romaine lettuce if you don’t know the growing location.

“It’s also safer to buy lettuce by the head and not bagged lettuce,” Etter said. “Bagged lettuce is handled more by people and it puts you at a higher risk for developing illness.”

Etter said most people carry a normal type of E. Coli in their gut, but this particular outbreak involves an infectious form called E. Coli 0157, which is typically found in healthy farm animals.

When humans get exposed to the 0157 E. Coli strand it develops a Shiga toxin, which leads to sickness.

“It’s typically caused from exposure to farm animals and not washing your hands or it could be from contaminated food, which is what we are seeing with this particular outbreak,” Etter said.

Etter said Symptoms can be mild to severe and include vomiting, bloody diarrhea, fever, and severe stomach cramps. Typically people start getting sick within three to four days of exposure.

The young and elderly have the highest risk of getting infected with the 0157 E. Coli strand.

“People with a good immune systems, who are not elderly or young, typically recover within about a week,” Etter said.

In general, Etter said you can avoid being infected by E. Coli 0157 by practicing good hand washing and avoiding cross contamination between raw meat and fruits and vegetables.

“When preparing raw meat at home, don’t use the same knife and cutting board when you prepare vegetables.”

Etter said CRMC deals with a few cases of E. Coli 0157 per year, but not on a frequent basis.