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.