E. in Colorado. Coli outbreak: People sick in 13 states; Other fast food restaurants pull onions from the menu

A recent E. yellow onion from a California company. coli has been identified as the likely culprit in an outbreak that killed a Colorado man, hospitalized dozens and prompted voluntary recalls by a growing number of businesses that feared they had, or distributed, infected products, according to reporting by the Associated Press.

As health inspectors continue to investigate the cause of a deadly outbreak first reported by people who ate McDonald's quarter-pounder burgers, the fast food company confirmed to the AP that Taylor Farms in Salinas, Calif., was the source of the onions. The company will pull its flagship burger — and chopped onions — from menus in several states, including Colorado

Taylor Farms has a distribution center in Colorado Springs.

The outbreak hit Colorado particularly hard, where more than two dozen cases of the bacterium have been recorded and the only death, an elderly resident of Mesa County. Authorities have not yet released the name of the victim.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday issued a food safety alert about a “fast-moving” outbreak, as the number of cases continues to rise.

The US Food and Drug Administration said in several reports on Friday that McDonald's-related E. The number of people infected in the coli outbreak rose from 49 to 75.

Infectious disease experts say the particular strain of E. coli seen in the outbreak is a variety of “bogeymen” because of the toxins it produces.

“We all have E. coli in our gut, but the 157H7 E. coli strain carries an extra toxin that kills cells in your gut and can spread to the kidneys,” said Dr. David Merriam, assistant professor of biology at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Already this year, the CDC has issued two more 157H7 e. coli outbreaks — one from organic walnuts sold in bins and another from Raw Farm brand raw cheddar cheese — sickened seven people, including some Colorado residents. Investigations into these two outbreaks have been completed.

Merriam said the two incidents were not as big as those involving onions in the McDonald's Quarter Pounder. He said investigators haven't ruled out the possibility that the burger patties may have been the source of the bad E. coli

Contamination can arise in a number of ways, including from manure used in the field, perhaps a problem where there were animals in the field, or, says Merriam, “it could be a person who is not practicing good hygiene.”

Merriam says that 157H7 multiplies at an alarming rate. A single cell can grow into a million cells within four to six hours.

As the investigation continues, a growing number of restaurants in the affected area are holding back and pulling onions from menus, including Taco Bell, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut and Illegal Pits in Colorado Springs.

US Foods, a food distribution company that supplies restaurants and food service operators nationwide, said several regional distribution centers for Taylor Farms, including one located in Colorado Springs, have issued recalls of certain onion products.

According to a recall notice sent to potentially affected warehouses:

“US Foods Quality Assurance has received notification that Taylor Farms is conducting a recall of onions. The reason for the recall is due to possible E.coli contamination. There is a potential food safety concern. Our records show that affected products may have been shipped to your location.

“It is important that you stop using the affected product as soon as possible.”

A Greeley man who says he was sickened by a McDonald's burger containing contaminated onions filed a lawsuit against the fast food giant this week. On Friday, a Nebraska woman who tested positive for E.coli after becoming violently ill, several days after eating a quarter-pounder, sued McDonald's and the Missouri-based franchise that sold her the food.

Even in an otherwise healthy body, E.coli can wreak havoc.

Before federal regulations tightened around the beef industry, an E. associated with Jack in the Box burgers in the early 1990s. The coli outbreak killed four people and sent more than 170 to the hospital.

In September, deli meat from the Boar's Head plant in Virginia was found to be the cause of the largest US outbreak of listeria in more than a decade. About 60 people have been reported infected with foodborne bacterial illness and 10 have died.

A rapid response by public health agencies is essential to save lives, said Tatiana Bailey, executive director of Data-Driven Economic Strategies, a Springs company that compiles and analyzes health and economic data.

“If it's not detected quickly, and we have a lot of people getting sick before we find out where it's coming from” it's hard to predict the devastating impact of an outbreak, he said. “People take clean water, clean food, vaccinations and more that these public health agencies provide … but the dollars and cents that go to public health agencies for this kind of tracking and testing pay for themselves in spades.”

According to a report produced by Bailey's company on the return on investment in local public health programs and efforts, it was estimated that there would be 1,084 cases of foodborne illness in El Paso County in 2023.

These numbers, he said, likely fall short of the actual incidence.

“It's reported through the ER, and people don't get tested when they don't report — or they're in distress until they get sick and are hospitalized,” Bailey said. “The likelihood is that a lot more people are sick than we realize.”

The CDC estimates that for every documented case of foodborne illness, another 27 cases go unreported.