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Sept. 15, 2006 -- The FDA is warning consumers not to eat bagged fresh spinach as it probes a multistate outbreak of E. coli linked to at least one death and scores of illnesses.
The warning currently applies to all bagged fresh spinach, regardless of whether it was conventionally or organically grown.
Here are three questions and answers about E. coli, based on information from the CDC:
Q. What is E. coli?
A. E. coli is a bacterium. There are hundreds of strains of E. coli. The strain involved in the current outbreak is E. coli 0157:H7.
Q. What are the health risks of E. coli 0157:H7?
This strain of E. coli can cause abdominal cramping and diarrheadiarrhea, often with bloody stools. Most adults recover fully in about a week.
But it can also lead to a serious complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) which causes kidney failurekidney failure. Young children and the elderly are at particular risk for this complication.
Q. How common are E. coli outbreaks?
This particular strain of E. coli causes an estimated 61 deaths and 73,000 cases of infection in the U.S. annually, according to the CDC.
Most past infections have been linked to undercooked ground beef.
Other culprits have been sprouts, lettuce, salami, unpasteurized milk and juice, and swimming in or drinking sewage-contaminated water, according to the CDC.