(Statewide) – There have been 49 confirmed cases of E. coli reported in 10 different states tied to what is believed to be Quarter Pounders and slivered onions from McDonald’s, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) shared yesterday, October 22.
Of those cases, four were reported in Wyoming.
There have been 10 hospitalizations and one death reported as well, according to current CDC numbers.
Oregon, Montana, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Wisconsin are the other affected states. Colorado has the highest number of reported cases, at 26.
The CDC, Food and Drug Administration, United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, and public health officials in multiple states are “investigating the outbreak,” the CDC release informs.
So far, the CDC has determined that most people involved in these cases are reporting eating the Quarter Pounder hamburger at McDonald’s before becoming sick, but it is not yet known which specific food ingredient is contaminated.
The CDC notice informs that McDonald’s is collaborating with investigation partners to determine what food ingredient in Quarter Pounders is making people sick, and have stopped using fresh slivered onions and Quarter Pounder beef patties in several states while the investigation is ongoing.
A CDC update posted today, October 23, added a list of states where McDonald’s has temporarily removed slivered onions and beef patties, including: Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Wyoming, and portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.
“McDonald’s is proactively making these changes while investigators work to confirm the contaminated ingredient,” the notice states. “Quarter pound beef patties are only used on Quarter Pounders. Fresh slivered onions are primarily used on Quarter Pounder hamburgers and not other menu items.”
At this time it is not known where in Wyoming the four cases originate from, but County 10 has reached out to the CDC and McDonald’s corporate to see if that information can be provided.
The corporate response did not clarify the locations in Wyoming, but it did provide the following message and video below from Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA.
(As of this writing, the CDC has not been able to reply to our information request.)
County 10 also reached out to the McDonald’s restaurants in both Lander and Riverton to confirm if those items have been taken off the local menus while the investigation continues, but the managers on shift at both locations were unable to provide comment, and both the district supervisor and local franchise owner were unavailable to comment by the time of publication.
(County 10 will update this post with their comments when they are made available.)
The chart below shows when the cases were reported.
(Note: “Recent illnesses may not yet be reported as it usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak. The true number of sick people in this outbreak is also likely much higher than the number reported. This is because many people recover without medical care and are not tested for E. coli.”)
The CDC states that you should call your healthcare provider if you have the following severe E. coli symptoms:
- Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102°F
- Diarrhea for more than 3 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, feeling dizzy when standing up
The CDC also shared the following about E. coli: - Most people infected with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli experience severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting.
- Symptoms usually start 3 to 4 days after swallowing the bacteria.
- Most people recover without treatment after 5 to 7 days.
- Some people may develop serious kidney problems (hemolytic uremic syndrome, also called HUS) and would need to be hospitalized.
For additional information about E. coli, see the About Escherichia coli Infection page.
Click here for future updates on the situation from the CDC.