Of the 67 people for whom local public health officials had detailed dietary histories, 81% reported eating at Wendy’s restaurant in the week before the illness began.
No deaths have been reported, but 43 people were hospitalized and 10 developed hemolytic-uremic syndrome, according to the CDC. This is a serious condition that can lead to kidney failure.
“The actual number of sick people in this outbreak is likely higher than reported, and the outbreak may not be confined to states with known illness,” the update said. Some have recovered without medical care and have not been tested for E. coli.”
So far, no specific food has been identified as the source, according to the CDC. But Wendy’s removed romaine from his lettuce he used in sandwiches at restaurants in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania in late August, according to the CDC.
The CDC is not advising people to avoid Wendy’s, and the agency says there is no evidence that romaine lettuce sold in grocery stores or served in other restaurants is linked to the current outbreak. I point out that it is not.
According to the CDC, people with E. coli symptoms such as diarrhea, fever over 102°F, severe vomiting, and dehydration should contact their healthcare provider immediately. They are also asked to write down what they ate in the previous week and report any illnesses to their local or state health department.
According to the CDC, about 1 in 6 Americans get food poisoning each year from at least 31 known and other unidentified pathogens, killing about 3,000 people.