E. Coli Cases Rise to 104 in Outbreak Linked to McDonald’s Onions

The number of those sickened with E. coli has risen to 104 in a recent outbreak linked to McDonald’s onions served on Quarter Pounder burgers.

On Wednesday, federal health officials reported that at least 104 people have fallen ill, with 34 requiring hospitalization, in the outbreak.

Where Cases Are Located

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that cases have been identified across 14 states. One person in Colorado has died, and four others have developed a potentially life-threatening kidney complication.

Colorado was the state with the highest number of reported cases with at least 30, followed by 19 in Montana, 13 in Nebraska, 10 in New Mexico, eight each in Missouri and Utah, six in Wyoming, three in Kansas, two in Michigan, and one case each in Iowa, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin.

The reported illnesses occurred between September 12 and October 21, with at least seven individuals noting they had eaten McDonald’s food while traveling.

The E. Coli Outbreak

The CDC identified slivered onions on Quarter Pounders as the likely source of the outbreak. California-based produce supplier Taylor Farms issued a recall for onions potentially tied to the contamination. Although FDA tests detected a strain of E. coli with a harmful toxin in one onion sample, officials noted it did not match the strain responsible for the reported illnesses.

“Interviews conducted by public health officials with those who were sick with E. coli and interviews with others who did not get sick led officials to suspect quarter pounders from McDonald’s as the source,” Tom Skinner, public affairs officer at the CDC, previously told Newsweek.

Quarter Pounders were pulled from menus in several states in the initial days of the outbreak. The onions used in these McDonald’s locations are now past their shelf life and are no longer in circulation. CDC officials have stated that the public risk remains low.

E. Coli

The bacterial strain involved in this outbreak is responsible for approximately 74,000 infections, over 2,000 hospitalizations and 61 deaths in the U.S. each year, according to CDC data.

E. coli is a type of bacteria that normally lives in the intestines of people and animals, but certain strains can cause severe foodborne illness. While most E. coli strains are harmless, the type involved in this outbreak—known as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli—can cause serious infections and potentially life-threatening complications.

Symptoms typically appear within one to two days of consuming contaminated food and include fever, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea and signs of dehydration such as low urine output, increased thirst and dizziness. The infection can lead to a severe kidney injury, particularly in children under 5, for whom E. coli poisoning requires urgent medical attention.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.