Escherichia coli is an emerging cause of foodborne illness. An estimated 73,000 cases of infection and 61 deaths occur in the United States each year. Infection often leads to bloody diarrhea, and occasionally to kidney failure. Most illness has been associated with eating undercooked, contaminated ground beef. Person-to-person contact in families and child care centers is also an important mode of transmission. Infection can also occur after drinking raw milk and after swimming in or drinking sewage-contaminated water.
Consumers can prevent E. coli infection by thoroughly cooking ground beef, avoiding unpasteurized milk, and washing hands carefully.
Reprinted with permission from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention
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