(Image source from: Fox News)

Health officials proclaimed that count of death is increasing after consuming tainted lettuce from Arizona as five people have now died leaving 25 people ill, making this the nation's largest Escherichia Coli outbreak in a decade.

According to the report by the United State centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in total 197 people across 35 states have become ill since March 13, including five deaths.

Officials stated that the initial illness began sometime between March 13 and May 13 with 89 people being hospitalized and 26 developing a kidney failure due to infection.

They further noted that some individuals who became afflicted may never actually consumed the contaminated lettuce but instead were in the close contact with else individuals who had done so.

The symptoms of E. coli include bloody diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, vomiting and nausea that begin about three to four days after consuming bacteria, according to CDC. Umpteen people infected by the bacteria get finer within five to seven days.

In a meantime, as more cases are being reported, the CDC said that the harvest season in Yuma concluded six weeks ago and it is improbable that any of the affected romaine lettuce is still available in homes, stores or restaurants due to its 21-day shelf life.

"The traceback investigation indicates that the illnesses associated with this outbreak cannot be explained by a single grower, harvester, processor, or distributor. While traceback continues, the FDA will focus on trying to identify factors that contributed to contamination of romaine across multiple supply chains," the FDA said in a statement Thursday.

Along side CDS, investigating the outbreak the U.S. Food and Drug administration consider that the probable link to the maladies and deaths is romaine lettuce that is origin from the winter growing areas in and around Yuma growing region in Arizona.

This is an ample outbreak of its kind since 2006 E. coli outbreak that was connected to spinach.

By Sowmya Sangam