E. coli outbreak traced to lettuce from Arizona

YUMA, Ariz. (AP/ FOX 11) - California has joined the list of states that have reported ill people due to a multistate E. coli outbreak that has sickened nearly three dozen people and is linked to lettuce grown in Arizona.

The Centers for Disease Control says 53 people across 16 states have become ill from chopped romaine lettuce grown in Yuma.

Thirty-one of them have been hospitalized, including five with kidney failure. No deaths have been reported.

The agency has not identified a common grower, supplier, distributor or brand.

But officials advise that consumers, restaurants and retailers should throw out any chopped romaine lettuce that came from the Yuma area.

Symptoms of E. coli infection include diarrhea, severe stomach cramps and vomiting.

Yuma is about 185 miles (298 kilometers) southwest of Phoenix.

Yuma bills itself as the "winter lettuce capital" and hosts an annual Lettuce Festival.