E Coli Outbreak Tied to McDonald's Quarter Pounder Burgers: One Killed and Dozens Sick
A severe outbreak of E coli infection has been traced to have arisen from McDonald's fast-food outlets, as it has linked more than 40 cases of illness and one death to Quarter Pounder hamburgers. Federal health agencies are reporting a surge response in conjunction with the McDonald's corporate headquarters over this health crisis.
Outbreak Reaches Across Multiple States
Since last month late in September, a type of E. coli outbreak has affected customers in 10 western states, most cases reported in Colorado and Nebraska. CDC said that 49 people fell ill, an elderly person in Colorado died as complications from the infection.
It has also caused severe health problems, as 10 people are already hospitalized, of whom one is a child who has contracted a rare and hazardous disease known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, which even causes serious impairment to kidneys.
McDonald's Response
McDonald's USA president Joe Erlinger released a video statement saying, Food safety is a top priority for us.
The fast-food giant acted fast by removing slivered onions, a suspected source of contamination from its Quarter Pounders in the affected states. They also temporarily pulled the Quarter Pounder from menus in those areas.
All of the remaining McDonald's restaurants are functional and the other items on the menu will be available in their respective areas.
What is E Coli and How Does it Spread?
E coli is one of those bad bacteria, normally resident in the gut, and can be passed to humans through poor handling of raw meat or via contamination of vegetables. Symptoms are diarrhea, fever, nausea, and abdominal pains. The vast majority are seen to recover without serious conditions without specific treatments within a week. Hospitalization is unavoidable, although for old people and infants cannot be ruled out. In this food poisoning outbreak, people infected with this disease stated that they recently had meals at McDonald's and were served the Quarter Pounder burger.
Food-borne illness with E coli is more prevalent when food is not prepared or cooked correctly to prevent the bacteria from becoming repopulated. Food poisoning in restaurants is a real danger when large quantities of food are prepared and served; hence, it's impossible to know if there was an ounce of room for less-than-stringent focus on each step of food preparation.
The Investigation: Slivered Onions and Beef Patties
From the investigations conducted, the sources of contamination have been narrowed to two: sliced onions and beef patties. These two items are recalled from the McDonald's stores as a preventive measure. Food safety agencies are urging people who have eaten a Quarter Pounder and have manifest symptoms to report directly to a doctor immediately.
Action and Safety Measure in the Future
The CDC has led by example in teaming up with McDonald's to trace the source of this outbreak and prevent similar occurrences from happening in the near future. Specifically, McDonald's shows how much it cares by cooperatively working with the authorities to ensure customer trust and food safety. The food-related illness quick response also depicts how the fast-food industry seriously takes such matters into consideration.
As a consumer, this drives the message home and to restaurants to be careful at all times about the safety of the foods they prepare, whether you are preparing them in the kitchen at home or dining out in the fast-food industry. Washing vegetables, cooking meat, and generally clean preparation methods can prevent E. coli from contaminating foods. While the fast-food industry is not new to foodborne outbreaks, maintaining high standards for food safety is highly necessary to the prevention of future health crises.
With inputs from agencies
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