(CNN) The number of people hospitalized due to a multistate E. coli outbreak linked to chopped romaine lettuce continues to grow, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

About 53 people have been reported sickened in 16 states since March 13, the CDC said. Thirty-one of those ill have been hospitalized. Five of them developed a type of kidney failure associated with an E. coli illness called hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can be life-threatening.

No deaths have been reported, the CDC said.

The higher number of E. coli cases have been in Pennsylvania, Idaho, New Jersey and Montana.

The outbreak has also reached consumers in Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Virginia and Washington.

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