UPDATE: The public health department of Mesa County has announced that several of the E. coli cases, including the one death linked to the outbreak occurred within Mesa County.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a food safety alert Tuesday, warning the public that 10 people have been hospitalized and one person has died from an outbreak of E. coli, linked to food from McDonald’s.

The outbreak, involving 49 documented cases, is scattered over 10 states including Colorado, according to the CDC. The problem appears to be linked specifically to an ingredient in the McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburger.

In response, McDonald’s has pulled the hamburger and its associated ingredients off the menu in some states.

In a public statement by the company’s North America Chief Supply Chain Officer Cesar Piña, initial findings showed that the illnesses may be linked to the slivered onions used in the burger traced back to three distribution centers, all serviced by the same supplier.

“As a result, and in line with our safety protocols, all local restaurants have been instructed to remove this product from their supplies, and we have paused the distribution of all slivered onions in the impacted areas,” Piña states on the company’s website.

Out of an “abundance of caution” he continues, the Quarter Pounder is being temporarily removed from restaurants in Colorado, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming, as well as parts of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada and Oklahoma.

“We take food safety extremely seriously and it’s the right thing to do,” Piña states.

The CDC reported that its investigation  started Tuesday and no mandatory recall of McDonald’s food products has been ordered as of yet. The removal of menu items from McDonald’s locations was done proactively by the company.

Most of the cases of illness have come from Colorado and Nebraska, according to the CDC. The first case was reported Sept. 27. Those infected have ranged in age from 13 to 88 years old. The one death from infection was an older adult in Colorado, according to the agency.

It is believed that the total number of those affected by the outbreak is underreported because many people recover without medical intervention. The CDC has asked that anyone who ate a McDonald’s quarter pound burger recently call their health care provider immediately if they start suffering E. coli symptoms.

Those symptoms can include:

• Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102 F
• Excessive vomiting (unable to hold down liquids)
• Signs of dehydration

According to the CDC, most people infected with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli experience severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting.

Symptoms usually start three to four days after swallowing the bacteria.

Most people recover without treatment after five to seven days.

Some people may develop serious kidney problems and will need to be hospitalized.

More information from the CDC about E. coli infection is available here.