McDonald’s E. coli outbreak grows by 50% in 3 days as lawsuits mount

Twenty-six more cases have been identified in a multistate E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounder burgers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday.

The 26 new cases represent a 50 percent increase in the case count from October 22, bringing the total to 75 cases. With the new cases, health officials also reported 12 more hospitalizations, including one new adult case of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a severe complication to an E. coli O157:H7 infection. Three more states are also newly affected: Michigan, New Mexico, and Washington.

In all, the outbreak now stands at 75 cases, including 22 hospitalizations and two cases of HUS, across 13 states. The number of deaths linked to the outbreak remains at one. The most recent illness onset for the cases identified so far is October 10.

The states with cases now include: Colorado (26 cases), Montana (13), Nebraska (11), New Mexico (5), Utah (5), Missouri (4), Wyoming (4), and Michigan (2), and one case each in Iowa, Kansas, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The source of the outbreak has not yet been confirmed, but investigators have focused on the beef patties and slivered onions used on McDonald's Quarter Pounders. McDonald's immediately pulled the popular burger off the menu and paused distribution of the slivered onions from affected restaurants when the CDC announced the outbreak Tuesday. McDonald's considered the affected areas to be Colorado, Kansas, Utah, and Wyoming, as well as portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.

Onions recalled and destroyed

On Wednesday, one of McDonald's onion suppliers, Taylor Farms, recalled peeled and diced yellow onion products. Taylor Farms told Bloomberg earlier this week that its testing had not turned up E. coli, but that it decided to issue the recall anyway.

Other fast food chains, including Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, have also pulled onions from restaurants in the impacted states and areas.

Still, the CDC noted that no other restaurants or retailers have been identified as a source of infection in the current outbreak. "Of 42 people interviewed, all 42 reported eating at McDonald’s before their illness started, and most specifically mentioned eating a Quarter Pounder hamburger," the CDC said Friday.

Based on McDonald's swift actions and the quick recall, the CDC says that it "believes the continued risk to the public is very low." But, cases may continue to be identified, the agency noted previously. It often takes three to four weeks to link an illness to an outbreak.

Already, some of the people sickened by the outbreak have filed lawsuits against McDonald's. Clarissa DeBock, 33, of Nebraska, filed a lawsuit claiming that she needed emergency care due to an E. coli infection after eating a Quarter Pounder on September 18. Eric Stelly, of Colorado, likewise developed severe illness and required emergency care after eating a Quarter Pounder on October 4. The law firm representing both DeBock and Stelly said it was also representing at least nine other victims in the outbreak.

As Ars reported before, the people most vulnerable to an E. coli O157:H7 infection are children ages 5 and under, adults 65 and over, and people with compromised immune systems. The CDC advises anyone who recently ate a Quarter Pounder to call their health care provider if they begin having severe symptoms of an E. coli infection.

Initial symptoms tend to begin three to four days after eating contaminated food and include stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting.

Symptoms of severe infection include:

• Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102° F
• Diarrhea for more than three days that is not improving
• Bloody diarrhea
• So much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down
• Signs of dehydration, such as not peeing much, dry mouth and throat, and feeling dizzy when standing up.