Preventing E. coli O157:H7 and HUS
Consumers can prevent E. coli O157:H7 by:
- washing hands carefully
- keeping your food preparation areas clean
- avoiding unpasteurized beverages
- serve irradiated hamburger
- cooking and serving your food at the appropriate temperatures
- being careful when dealing with animals
- keep ill children home from daycare and preschool
- using caution when swimming
- Be especially cautious if you have a children or compromised
immune system
- Children under 5 years of age, immunocompromised persons, and the elderly should avoid eating alfalfa sprouts.
Minimizing Your Risk
- 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.
- 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 O157:H7
- Young calves are especially important carriers of E. coli O157:H7
- Hand Hygiene
Wash Your Hands!
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.
- 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.
- Drink only pasteurized milk, juice, or cider.
- Avoid foods made from unpasteurized milk.
- 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 O157:H7
- Escherichia
coli Infection and Animals
CDC; Protect yourself against getting E-coli from animals. Attention: Non-MDH link
Keep ill children home from daycare and preschool
- Children should not attend daycare or preschool with diahrrea.
- 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
- 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.
- Healthy Swimming
CDC; Contains information on recreational waterborne illnesses. Attention: Non-MDH link
Do you suspect that you have a foodborne illness? Visit reporting suspected foodborne illnesses.
Spotlight
Chicks and Ducklings: Salmonella
Those cute little chicks and ducklings can be a great attraction for children this time of year, but they can also be a source of illness.
Protect others if you are experiencing diarrhea!
Anyone with a diarrheal illness should avoid swimming in public pools or lakes, sharing baths with others, and preparing food for others.
Young children (children in diapers) that are experiencing diarrhea should not be allowed to go swimming or attend daycare.
If you have questions or comments about this page, use our IDEPC Comment Form or call 651-201-5414 (TTY: 651-201-5797) for the MDH Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Division.
