The ground beef E. coli outbreak has expanded to 10 states, 156 people are sick and 20 have been hospitalized. That’s an increase of 47 illnesses, four states and three hospitalizations since the last update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on April 12, 2019. Half of the people sickened are under the age of 19.
Most of the newly reported illnesses occurred in states that had previously been part of the outbreak. For example, Kentucky added 11 cases, Tennessee added 13 new cases and Georgia added 16 cases. Whereas the four new states, Illinois, Florida, Mississippi and Minnesota, added a combined total of seven cases.
The people sickened in this outbreak reported eating ground beef they purchased at restaurants and grocery stores before they became ill. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) is still conducting traceback investigations to determine the source of the ground beef supplied to these establishments, so no recalls have been issued. At this time, health officials are just advising consumers to only consume ground beef that has been cooked to an internal temperature of 160˚F.
The case-patients, who range in age from less than 1 year to 83 years, have reported onset-of-illness from March 1, 2019 to April 7, 2019. None of the 20 people who have been hospitalized have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a form of kidney failure associated with E. coli infections.
E. coli outbreaks linked to ground beef are not uncommon. There have been at least eight multi-state E. coli outbreaks in the last 12 years.
If you have an E. coli infection linked to this outbreak and would like a free consultation with a member of our E. coli Team, call 1 (888) 377-8900, send a text to 612-261-0856. Or, complete the form below. The public disclosure of brand, store or restaurant names is not a prerequisite to filing a suit. If there is evidence that links your illness to contaminated food, you can file a claim. Put our experienced lawyers to work for you.