A man in Colorado died after contracting E coli from a McDonald’s hamburger, health officials announced.
The CDC said Tuesday that 49 people in 10 states have been sickened by the same strain of E coli, a deadly bacteria that affects nearly 100,000 Americans a year.
All of the affected patients had eaten at McDonald’s before becoming ill and, more specifically, mentioned ordering the chain’s popular Quarter Pounder.
The specific contaminated ingredient has not been identified, but investigators are focusing on the chopped onions and beef patty, which have been removed from stores in the affected states.
A child has also been hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), an infection that causes kidney damage in up to one in seven E coli patients.
The CDC announced that 49 people in 10 states became ill with E coli after eating at McDonald’s in 10 states. Most ate a quarter pounder (pictured)
No additional details have been released about the Colorado man or the boy.
The CDC reported that most people are from Colorado (27) or Nebraska (9). Additionally, people in Utah, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Montana and Oregon have reported cases.
E. coli are bacteria typically found in the intestines of animals such as cattle, goats, sheep, and deer. While most are harmless, some can cause a range of gastrointestinal symptoms, such as stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea, and vomiting.
The bacteria can be found in food and water contaminated with feces from infected animals.
E coli sickens about 95,000 Americans a year and kills about 100.
Symptoms include diarrhea, fever above 102 F, vomiting, and signs of dehydration such as lack of urine or dry mouth, the CDC said.
Patients in the current outbreak were infected with the O157:H7 strain, the most common strain in humans that has been shown to cause serious intestinal infections.
The CDC said anyone who has severe E coli symptoms after eating a quarter pounder at McDonald’s should seek medical help and tell the provider what they ate.
HUS, which led to the boy’s hospitalization, affects between 200 and 300 Americans each year and kills fewer than one in 20 of them.
Symptoms include bloody diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, and vomiting.
McDonald’s produces about 6 million hamburgers per day in the US, and about 110,000 are Quarter Pounders.