The romaine lettuce E.coli outbreak has been pinned on at least one farm in California with infected reservoir water

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December 14, 2018 12:36 PM

The US Food and Drug Association say they've traced the start of the outbreak which sickened 59 people across 15 states to three Californian counties.

The Adam Bros. Farm, in Santa Barbara County, California.

sickened more than 200 people and killed five

The romaine lettuce E.coli outbreak which sickened 59 people across 15 states has been pinned on at least one farm in California, which was using infected water from a reservoir.

The US Food and Drug Association (FDA) said on Thursday they have traced the outbreak, announced on November 20, to at least one location: Adam Bros. Farms in Santa Barbara County, California.

They said the outbreak, which was wider than a single farm, may also have come from nearby Monterey and San Benito counties.

The Adams Bros. Farms, 180 miles up the Californian coast from Los Angeles. BusinessInsider

E.coli is a species of bacteria that lives in the intestines of people and animals, and can cause symptoms severe enough to kill humans.

The FDA wrote: "Additional romaine lettuce shipped from other farms could also likely be implicated in the outbreak."

The symptoms of eating E.coli infected foods are usually diarrhea and abdominal cramps, the FDA said. They said some cases can be life-threatening, causing kidney failure and seizures.

The sample which tested positive for E.coli from Adams Bros. Farms was collected by the FDA and analyzed by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC,) they said.

Romaine lettuce has been at the centre of two E.coli outbreaks in 2018. BusinessInsider

After the outbreak was confirmed in late November, the CDC said people should avoid the lettuce: "Consumers who have any type of romaine lettuce in their home should not eat it and should throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick."

The FDA said they are quite confident the infected lettuces are off the market. Official advice is to avoid romaine grown in Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Benito counties.

It's the second E. coli outbreak tied to romaine lettuce so far in 2018. The CDC said the two were not related. The first, earlier this year, sickened more than 200 people and killed five.

The FDA said Adams Bros. Farms is cooperating with their investigation and that they have not shipped any romaine since November 20.

Here's everything you need to know about E.coli.

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