A Colorado teen is hospitalized with kidney failure after consuming multiple McDonald’s Quarter Pounders before they were found to be contaminated with E. coli.
Grand Junction high school freshman Kamberlyn Bowler, 15, was flown to a Denver-area hospital and was on dialysis for 10 days as doctors fought to save her kidneys. She was still hospitalized as of Tuesday.
Normally grabbing a McDonald’s meal makes for a convenient nosh while watching school sports, the student athlete said.
This time the three quarter pounders with cheese, extra pickles and onions that she ate between Sept. 27 and Oct. 8 nearly killed her — and her health is still up in the air.
In rare cases, the bacteria can attack the kidneys and lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome, a severe renal disease complication. That’s what happened to Kamberlyn, as she became sick in the days after eating the burgers, with symptoms including fever, vomiting, diarrhea and acute abdominal cramps.
As symptoms worsened, Kamberlyn went to the hospital, where she was first diagnosed with a stomach bug and sent home, said her mother. The teen landed back in the ER a couple of days later, where her kidney failure was diagnosed. She was flown to Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora.
At least 75 people in total got sick in the outbreak, with 22 of them hospitalized, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One person died in Mesa County, Colo., where Kamberlyn lives.
Two lawsuits have already been filed, and Kamberlyn’s mother indicated she plans to sue as well.
The fast-food chain pulled the popular sandwich from 900 of its stores before finding the culprit. Taylor Farms voluntarily recalled some of the onions it had sent to food service operators, the CDC said.
The sandwich will be reintroduced this week without onions, McDonald’s said Monday after determining that beef was not the problem.
On Tuesday, the chain’s chairman, president and CEO Chris Kempczinski, apologized on an investor call.
“The recent spate of E. coli cases is deeply concerning, and hearing reports of how this has impacted our customers has been wrenching for us,” he said.