At least 74 people have been sickened in the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak at Federico’s Mexican Restaurant in Litchfield Park, Arizona. Twenty-three people are currently hospitalized or were hospitalized and released.
No exact food or cause of the outbreak has been pinpointed at this time. The investigation by public health officials is ongoing. Two children have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) as a result of their illnesses.
This outbreak is the largest E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in the United States so far this year. The Farm Rich frozen snack foods outbreak from earlier this year, which sickened 35 people in 19 states, was declared over in the spring.
The symptoms of an E. coli O157:H7 infection include severe cramps, watery and/or bloody diarrhea, mild fever and possible nausea and vomiting. In fact, stools may appear to have more blood than fecal matter. The symptoms usually appear 7 days after infection, which means that the last meal you ate probably is not the one that made you sick. Some people develop HUS as a result of this infection; those symptoms include small, unexplained bruises, bleeding from the nose and mouth, decreased urination, pale skin tone, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
Read “Restaurant Food Poisoning: 5 Things You Need to Know“, “Food Poisoning Outbreaks“, and “Can You Sue a Hotel for Food Poisoning“.
