美國CDC要求民衆避免食用長葉萵苣

All the romaine lettuce in the U.S. is currently unsafe to eat, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said, warning consumers that an E. coli outbreak is linked to the salad staple.

美國疾病預防與控制中心（CDC）近日表示，所有美國長葉萵苣都不能安全食用，並警告消費者大腸桿菌疫情的爆發與以長葉萵苣爲主的沙拉有關。

The warning comes after 32 people in 11 states reported E. coli infections. The number of ill people is expected to increase, says Laura Gieraltowski, team lead of the CDC's foodborne outbreak response team.

該警告是在11個州共報告32起大腸桿菌感染病例後發佈的。美國疾病預防與控制中心食源性疫情應對小組負責人Laura Gieraltowski表示，患者數預計還會有所增加。

Gieraltowski says the CDC took the somewhat extreme measure of warning people to avoid all romaine lettuce because the agency has not yet identified a common grower or supplier that could be the source of the outbreak.

Gieraltowski稱，CDC已採取非常措施，以警告人們不再食用生菜，因爲該機構尚未確定潛在病源爲同一種植者或供應商。

California, which grows the majority of romaine lettuce shipped around the country this time of year, has reported the highest number of E. coli cases in the current outbreak, with 10 people infected so far. Investigators will likely look into those cases to determine where the lettuce came from and where it was sent.

每年的這個時候，加州都會爲全美各地提供大量長葉萵苣，而加州所報告的大腸桿菌病例是目前最多的，目前已有10個。調查人員將會追蹤這些病例，以確定長葉萵苣的來源與銷地。

"Where the cases are can often give us information on how the food was distributed," Gieraltowski says.

Gieraltowski表示：“疫情所在地往往會爲我們提供長葉萵苣的分銷途徑。”

Romaine lettuce itself is not inherently more likely to cause E. coli outbreaks than similar produce. But vegetable row crops, which include leafy greens like romaine, are a major source of E. coli, according to Gieraltowski.

長葉萵苣本質上並不比同類產品更易於造成大腸桿菌感染。但據Gierltowski所述，大腸桿菌主要源於行栽作物，包括長葉萵苣這類帶葉蔬菜。

Such crops are responsible for about 40% of E. coli outbreaks.

這類農產品是約40%大腸桿菌疫情的罪魁禍首。