McDonald’s Quarter Pounders linked to multistate E. coli outbreak, CDC says

(WNKY) – Federal officials are warning about a multistate E. coli outbreak that has been linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one death has been reported from an older adult in Colorado, and a total of 49 people have been infected in the outbreak as of Oct. 22.

The CDC says the actual number of those sick “is likely much higher than the number reported, and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses.”

So far, the CDC says states with reported illnesses include Kansas, Missouri, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Oregon, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Iowa.

Reported illnesses started between Sept. 27 through Oct. 11, according to the CDC.

The CDC says of the 18 people interviewed, all of them report eating at McDonald’s, and 16 people report eating a beef hamburger.

Early information from Food and Drug Administration shows onions may be a source of this outbreak, federal officials say. Investigators from all agencies are working to determine the contaminated ingredient.

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