McDonald’s E. coli outbreak linked to Quarter Pounders rises to 90 infected

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that the number of people infected in an E.coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers has risen to 90 from 75.

The outbreak was first reported on Oct. 22, and on Wednesday, the CDC said 27 people have been hospitalized because of the outbreak, which has already killed one person.

Two of them developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious condition that can cause kidney failure, since October 24.

The strain of E. coli O157:H7 that led to the McDonald’s outbreak is said to cause “very serious illness,” especially in the elderly, children and immunocompromised people.

The FDA noted that symptoms begin anywhere from a few days after consuming the contaminated food or up to nine days later.

Symptoms include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, fever, nausea and/or vomiting.

As of Wednesday, the outbreak has affected Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Wyoming, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Wisconsin, Washington and Michigan. Colorado has reported the highest number of infections with 29 people sickened.

Initial findings from McDonald’s and the FDA indicated that the outbreak was likely the result of chopped onions used in the Quarter Pounder and sourced from a single supplier serving three distribution centers.

The company along with the Colorado Department of Agriculture also ruled out beef pies as a source of the outbreak, leaving onions as the most likely cause of the outbreak.

McDonald’s said it would resume selling Quarter Pounders this week after temporarily removing the item from the menu at a fifth of its 14,000 US restaurants that were affected.

On Tuesday, company executives cushioned any potential sales hit from the explosion with CEO Chris Kempczinski apologizing to customers and adding that he was “confident in the safety of eating at McDonald’s.”

The health regulator and the company confirmed that Taylor Farms was the supplier for the affected sites.

Taylor Farms has recalled several batches of yellow onions produced at a Colorado facility, according to a recall memo Wednesday from US Foods, one of the largest U.S. suppliers of food service operations.