A recent E. coli outbreak in Montana has left one person dead and more than a dozen people sick.

Beach C. One dead in Montana in E. coli outbreak linked to ground beef. Food Safety News. July 24, 2024.

According to Food Safety News, the outbreak consists of the E. coli strain E. coli O157:H7 and has been tied to ground beef from Montana meat processor Lower Valley Processing.

News Desk. Montana company recalls ground beef linked to deadly outbreak of E. coli infections. July 30, 2024.

It was identified this July, and the “last known date of consumption” of the implicated ground beef was July 14. The processor has now recalled all of its raw ground meat products from animals slaughtered on June 5, 2024, which it says may have been impacted by the outbreak. 

As the current outbreak exemplifies, ingesting food contaminated with E. coli can lead to devastating health consequences. Perhaps more sobering, many of these consequences are avoidable.

“E. coli infections are preventable,” says Mitzi Baum, MSc., Chief Executive Officer of Stop Foodborne Illness, a food safety advocacy and education organization.

Some prevention tactics can involve prioritizing safe food handling, cooking, and cleaning, as well as good hand hygiene in and out of the kitchen. It can also involve consuming food grown in safe environments and not purchasing contaminated foods.

According to Baum, some tips for safe handling of food include:

• Cleaning foods like vegetables.

• Separating different types of foods.

• Cooking raw foods before eating. Baum adds that people should “cook all foods to the proper internal temperatures and cool quickly to reduce potential growth of any bacteria.”

• Chilling perishables. 

• Cleaning all utensils before and after use. Baum says that this is especially important when preparing two different types of foods at a time, such as raw proteins and ready-to-eat vegetables. Separating utensils is also important for preventing cross-contamination, she adds.

• Washing hands before and after eating and handling food.

“Handling raw products safely is essential to reduce the incidence of E. coli infections,” Baum says.

In the recent outbreak, Lower Valley Processing sold meat to restaurants and not directly to consumers.

News Desk. Montana company recalls ground beef linked to deadly outbreak of E. coli infections. July 30, 2024.

Some of the restaurants impacted by the outbreak include Gunsight Saloon, Harbor Grille, Hops Downtown Grill, the Lodge at Whitefish Lake, and Tamarack Brewing Company, located in Flathead County, MT. The person who died from the outbreak was found to have been exposed through wagyu beef at Harbor Grille, according to Food Safety News.

To help yourself and your patients stay safe from E. coli infections while dining out, you might suggest that they visit restaurants they trust; use good hygiene practices; and order their meats thoroughly cooked rather than raw. It is also important to avoid any products or restaurants that have been flagged for safety concerns.

Even careful diners, however, can be vulnerable to unexpected risks, and so doctors must be prepared to respond to E. coli outbreaks after they occur. While diagnosing and treating E. coli infections may be common knowledge among healthcare professionals, Baum says she notices that some providers overlook signs and symptoms or downplay patients’ concerns. She encourages doctors not to dismiss patients with a “stomach bug” without exploring other potentials like E. coli infections. 

“Many families have shared that they have sought medical attention and were sent home,” Baum says. “The delay in diagnosis and treatment often brings these individuals to the brink of death or death.”

She adds that “many healthcare professionals do not query foods consumed in the days prior” or consider potential connections to current foodborne illness outbreaks in an initial evaluation. In addition to taking the time to ask questions, Baum suggests, healthcare professionals should offer testing for foodborne pathogens to people who present with vomiting, diarrhea, or (especially) bloody diarrhea as these steps may help identify a diagnosis and direct a person to necessary treatment.

“Medical professionals must have expansive knowledge to accurately diagnose many ailments and diseases, but ruling out a foodborne illness should be perfunctory; food is what is common to every single person,” Baum says. “Simple testing can have an enormous impact on public health locally and at large.”