At least 104 people have fallen ill, 34 of them hospitalised, after an outbreak of E.coli food poisoning caused by serving onions. McDonald’s Quarter Pounder HamburgerFederal health officials said Wednesday.
According to an update from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cases have been detected in 14 states.
One person died in Colorado and four people developed a potentially life-threatening kidney disease complication.
At least 30 cases were reported in Colorado, followed by 19 in Montana, 13 in Nebraska, 10 in New Mexico, eight each in Missouri and Utah, six in Wyoming, three in Kansas, two in Michigan and one each in Iowa, North Carolina -A case was registered. Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin.
Illnesses were reported between September 12 and October 21. At least seven people who became ill said they ate McDonald’s food during the trip.
The CDC said chopped onions served on Quarter Pounders were the likely source of the outbreak. California-based produce grower Taylor Farms recalled onions potentially linked to the outbreak.
Tests conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration detected a type of E. coli bacteria in an onion sample that produces a dangerous toxin, but it did not match the type that makes people sick, officials said. Is.
Quarter Pounders were removed from menus in many states during the early days of the outbreak.
McDonald’s officials said Wednesday that the company has identified an alternative supplier for 900 restaurants that have temporarily stopped serving burgers with onions.
In the past week, those restaurants resumed selling Quarter Pounders with chopped onions.
“There do not appear to be ongoing food safety concerns related to this outbreak at McDonald’s restaurants,” FDA officials said in a statement.
The type of bacteria implicated in this outbreak causes about 74,000 infections annually in the U.S., causing more than 2,000 hospitalizations and 61 deaths each year, according to the CDC.
Symptoms appear rapidly, within a day or two after eating contaminated food, and typically include fever, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody stools and signs of dehydration – less or no urination, increased thirst and dizziness.
The infection can cause a type of acute kidney injury, especially in children under 5 years of age. E. coli poisoning in young children requires immediate medical attention.
