Something is contaminated with e-coli and it's making people sick in five states, including Georgia. The number of cases here has doubled. The state health department says 17 people have gotten sick with three people ending up in the hospital.
Cherie Drenzek, State Epidemiologist says the median age is 15 years old.
Nationally, eight people have been hospitalized, though none has died, nor have there been any cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome, a severe kidney complication sometimes caused by the shiga toxin this strain of E. coli sheds.
Signs and symptoms of E. coli O157:H7 infection typically begin three or four days after exposure to the bacteria, though you may become ill as soon as one day after to more than a week later.
Signs and symptoms include:
- Diarrhea, which may range from mild and watery to severe and bloody
- Abdominal cramping, pain or tenderness
- Nausea and vomiting, in some people