McDonald’s serving up fries, E.coli in outbreak announced today by CDC

As McDonald’s faces backlash from a staged event with former president Donald Trump serving fake customers, a second more deadly controversy hit the fast-food giant today.

One person is dead after a fast-moving E. coli infection traced to McDonald’s hamburgers has been linked in 49 cases in 10 states, according to a food-safety alert issued from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If you’ve had a Quarter Pounder recently and experienced a high fever, stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting after consuming the burger, it may be due to an E. coli infection.

An older adult in Colorado is the one fatality to date. A second person developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition that can cause kidney failure. To date, 10 people have been hospitalized.

Most people infected have symptoms starting three to four days after consumption, and the majority of people recover without treatment after five to seven days, according to the CDC.

The CDC and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service are working to find which food ingredient is to blame and if the contaminated item was sold to other businesses.

In response to the outbreak, Quarter Pounder hamburgers will not be available temporarily in some states. McDonald’s reported to the CDC that it has stopped using onions in several states while investigators work to confirm the contaminated ingredient.

Early information from the Food and Drug Administration indicates the onions may be the source of this outbreak. The USDA FSIS are also conducting a traceback on hamburger patties to determine if ground beef could be the source of illness.

To date, the outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 has been reported in 10 states from Sept. 27 to Oct. 11, according to the alert from the CDC. There have been no sicknesses reported in Virginia at this time. There have been cases reported in Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Wisconsin, Iowa, Montana, Kansas, Missouri, and Oregon.

The sick people range in age from 13 to 88 and are predominantly White and male, according to demographic information about the outbreak from the CDC.

The true number of sick people is likely much higher than the number reported. Many people recover without medical care and are not tested for E. coli.

It can take up to four weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak.

The investigation is ongoing.