McDonald’s drive-thru. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)
OMAHA — A multi-state outbreak of E. coli so far has led to one death and 10 hospitalizations — with three of the people hospitalized reportedly from the Omaha metro area. The source has been linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers and onions.
In all, the outbreak has included 49 cases of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) in 10 states.
STEC can be spread through undercooked meat, raw milk, unpasteurized juices, contaminated water, and fruits and vegetables that have been contaminated with feces, said the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
Federal officials have said that most of the ill people were in Colorado and Nebraska.
Twenty-six cases — including an older person with underlying conditions who died — were reported in Colorado.
Of the nine cases in Nebraska, area health departments said all but one occurred in Douglas and Sarpy Counties — the Omaha metropolitan area. Locally, those affected range in age from 22 to 75 years old.