A McDonalds sign hangs outside the fast food restaurant on July 26, 2022 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
An E. coli outbreak linked to a popular McDonald’s menu item surged in 10 states, including Utah, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Four of the 49 cases reported so far are in Utah. Neighboring Colorado reported one death and other affected states have identified 10 hospitalizations.
“Most sick people are reporting eating Quarter Pounder hamburgers from McDonald’s,” the CDC website indicates. Since then, the restaurants temporarily pulled the burger from its stores as investigators try to confirm which ingredient is contaminated.
Most illnesses have been detected in Colorado, which saw 26 cases. and Nebraska, with nine people who are sick. Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Wyoming, Montana and Oregon each reported a few patients impacted by the outbreak.
The likely culprits are the fresh slivered onions or the beef patties used in Quarter Pounders. McDonald’s stopped using those two items as of Tuesday in Utah, according to the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.
The state was first notified about an increase of E. coli cases in Utah and other neighboring states, prompting an investigation that narrowed down the cause to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders within the last day, said Delaney Moore, an epidemiologist with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
“Normally, this time of year, we’re seeing a few E. coli cases reported every week, but we saw that our numbers were more than we were expecting,” Moore said. “And we also saw some laboratory data that was indicating that these cases were coming from a common source, and our neighboring states, such as Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska, were all starting to see similar patterns.”
Patients with E. coli experience symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and bloody diarrhea, Moore said. Cases can last for up to a week, but those with weakened immune systems could develop other severe complications.
There’s a time delay from when someone eats a product and when they get sick, Moore said. So the state may identify additional cases for the next few weeks. But, the state is not concerned about illnesses contracted from this week.
“We’re not advising against eating at McDonald’s,” Moore said. “You can still go eat there. The implicated product, that Quarter Pounder, has been removed, as well as the concerning ingredients.”
Utah health officials are staying in close contact with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to find which of the two ingredients is the source of the outbreak and stop it, Moore said.
“People here in Utah should not be able to buy Quarter Pounders for a while at McDonald’s, so that’s good,” she said. “If you are feeling sick with symptoms of E. coli — so if you’re having the nausea, the bloody diarrhea, especially if you’re having something severe like dehydration — go ahead and go see a doctor or another health care provider. The most important thing is that you get treated if you are sick.”
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