One of hundreds of strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli, E. coli O157:H7 is an emerging cause of foodborne and waterborne illness. Although most strains of E. coli are harmless and live in the intestines of healthy humans and animals, this strain produces a powerful toxin and can cause severe illness. E. coli O157:H7 was first recognized as a cause of illness during an outbreak in 1982 traced to contaminated hamburgers. Since then, most infections are believed to have come from eating undercooked ground beef.
However, some have been waterborne. Over the last several weeks, people have become sick after drinking contaminated water in Washington County, New York and swimming in contaminated water in Clark County, Washington. The cause of a recent outbreak in Illinois has not yet been identified, and could be either water or food related.
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