A man in Colorado has died after catching E coli from a McDonald’s burger, health officials announced.
The CDC said Tuesday that 49 people in 10 states have been sickened from the same strain of E coli, a deadly bacteria affects nearly 100,000 Americans a year.
All affected patients had eaten at McDonald’s before getting sick, and most specifically mentioned ordering the chain’s popular Quarter Pounder.
The specific contaminated ingredient has not been identified, but investigators are focusing on the slivered onions and the beef patty, which have been pulled from stores in the affected states.
A child has also been hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), an infection that leads to kidney damage in up to one in seven E coli patients.
The CDC announced that 49 people in 10 states have been sickened with E coli after eating at McDonald’s in 10 states. Most ate a Quarter Pounder (pictured here)
No additional details have been released about the Colorado man or the child.
The CDC reported that most people Colorado (27) or Nebraska (9). Additionally, people in Utah, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Montana and Oregon have all 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 host of gastrointestinal symptoms, including stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea, and vomiting.
The bacteria can be found in food and water contaminated by feces from infected animals.
E coli sickens about 95,000 Americans per year and kills around 100.
Symptoms include diarrhea, a fever above 102 F, vomiting, and signs of dehydration like not peeing or dry mouth, the CDC said.
The patients in the current outbreak were infected with strain O157:H7, the most common strain in humans that has been shown to cause severe intestinal infections.
The CDC said that 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 caused the child to be hospitalized, affects about 200 to 300 Americans per year and kills less than one in 20 of those.
Symptoms include bloody diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, and vomiting.
