What you should do
Follow these four steps to prevent getting sick from E. coli.
- Clean: Wash your hands, utensils, and surfaces often. Rinse fruits and vegetables under running water before eating, cutting, or peeling.
- Separate: Keep food that won't be cooked separate from raw meat, poultry, and seafood.
- Cook: Use a food thermometer to make sure you have cooked your food to a temperature high enough to kill germs.
- Chill: Refrigerate perishable food (food that goes bad) within 2 hours. If the outside temperature is hotter than 90°F, refrigerate within 1 hour. Thaw food in the refrigerator, not on the counter.
Symptoms of E. coli
- Most people infected with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli experience severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting.
- Symptoms usually start 3 to 4 days after swallowing the bacteria.
- Most people recover without treatment after 5 to 7 days.
- Some people may develop serious kidney problems (hemolytic uremic syndrome, also called HUS) and would need to be hospitalized.
Content Source
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)
About This Page
Published: October 22, 2024
Updated: December 3, 2024
This page was last updated on this date. Updates may include minor edits, image changes, or other modifications to page content.
Reviewed: December 3, 2024
The information on this page was last reviewed by subject matter experts to ensure accuracy.