Preventing Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) and Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS)

Minimizing Your Risk

Wash your hands 

• Wash hands after using the bathroom and changing diapers, and before handling or eating any food.
• Make sure that persons with diarrhea, especially children, wash their hands carefully and frequently with soap to reduce the risk of spreading the infection.
  • This is particularly in daycare/preschool situations, where many outbreaks have occurred due to person-to-person spread.
• Always wash hands after contact with farm animals, animal feces, and animal environments.
  • Young calves are especially important carriers of E. coli.

Cook and serve your food at the appropriate temperatures

• Thoroughly cook raw meat to destroy the bacteria.
  • Ground beef and hamburgers should be cooked until they are no longer pink in the middle.
• If you are served an undercooked hamburger or other ground beef product in a restaurant, send it back for further cooking.
• Storage and Cooking Temperatures
  Learn more about storage and cooking temperatures
• Defrost food in the refrigerator, in cold water, or in the microwave. Food should be stored in a refrigerator that is 40°F or cooler or a freezer that is 0°F or cooler.

Keep your food preparation areas clean

• Never place cooked hamburgers or ground beef on the unwashed plate that held raw patties.
• Wash raw fruits and vegetables before eating.
• Keep raw meat separate from produce and other foods when shopping for and storing groceries.
• Wash hands, cutting boards, countertops, cutlery, and utensils after touching raw meat.

Avoid unpasteurized beverages

• Drink only pasteurized milk, juice, or cider.
• Avoid foods made from unpasteurized milk.

Serve irradiated hamburger

• Food Irradiation
  Irradiation is one of an emerging family of "end point" pasteurization technologies, which can be used to eliminate potential disease-causing microbes from our food before it goes to the consumer. 

Be careful when dealing with animals

• Always wash hands after contact with farm animals, animal feces, and animal environments.
  • Young calves are especially important carriers of E. coli
• CDC: Healthy Pets Healthy People 
  Protect yourself against getting E-coli from animals. 

Keep ill children home from daycare and preschool

• Children should not attend daycare or preschool with diarrhea.
• Children and adults may be subject to certain restrictions from daycare/preschool or food service when they are ill with a diarrheal illness. Restrictions on Child Care Attendance for Children or Staff in a Daycare or Preschool

Use caution when swimming

• Avoid swallowing lake or pool water while swimming.
• Anyone with a diarrheal illness should avoid swimming in public pools or lakes, sharing baths with others, and preparing food for others.
• CDC: Healthy Swimming
  Contains information on recreational waterborne illnesses.
   

Do you suspect that you have a foodborne or waterborne illness? Visit reporting suspected foodborne/waterborne illnesses.