Science and Medicine

1992–1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak

The 1992–1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak occurred when the Escherichia coli O157:H7 bacterium (originating from contaminated beef patties) killed 4 children and infected 732 people across four US states. The outbreak involved 73 Jack in the Box restaurants in California, Idaho, Washington, and Nevada, and has been described as "far and away the most infamous food poison outbreak in contemporary history". The majority of the affected were under 10 years old. Four children died and 178 others were left with permanent injury including kidney and brain damage. On February 10, 1993, newly inaugurated president Bill Clinton participated in a televised town meeting program from the studios of WXYZ-TV in Detroit. He fielded questions from the studio audience as well as studio audiences in Miami and Seattle and responded to questions from the parents of Riley Detwiler – the fourth and final child to die in the E. coli outbreak. The wide media coverage and scale of the outbreak were responsible for "bringing the exotic-sounding bacterium out of the lab and into the public consciousness," but it was not the first E. coli O157:H7 outbreak resulting from undercooked patties. The bacterium had previously been identified in an outbreak of food poisoning in 1982 (traced to undercooked burgers sold by McDonald's restaurants in Oregon and Michigan). Before the Jack in the Box incident, there had been 22 documented outbreaks in the United States resulting in 35 deaths.

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See also

• ▸Jean Civiale
• ▸Christa McAuliffe
• ▸Appendicitis

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