11 Bacteria Cases Prompt L.A. County Warning : Health: Ground beef is now a ‘risk food’ that should not be eaten unless it is thoroughly cooked, official says. Tainted meat can lead to serious illness.

Recent food poisonings by the E. coli bacteria have prompted Los Angeles County health authorities to now consider ground beef a “risk food” that should not be eaten unless it is thoroughly cooked.

Dr. Shirley Fannin, the county’s chief of communicable disease control, said Wednesday the recent outbreak and growing knowledge about the health dangers of undercooked hamburger have led health authorities to put ground beef in the same classification as chicken, unpasteurized milk, and pork--meaning that if not handled right, it can be harmful, even lethal.

Since April, 11 cases of E. coli poisoning have been reported in Los Angeles County, but 10 have developed since May, enough to alarm public health officials. The cause is a particularly virulent strain of bacteria known as E. coli 0157:H7.

An outbreak of E. coli contamination in Washington state last year that was linked to hamburgers in fast-food restaurants resulted in 614 reported cases and three deaths. Many of the cases were traced to Jack-in-the-Box restaurants. There have been four E. coli -related deaths in the western United States since November, 1992. The very young and elderly are considered especially vulnerable.

“We are now identifying hamburger as a risk food,” Fannin said.

Like chicken, Fannin said, hamburger “must be thoroughly cooked, meaning there can be no pink or red in it.” She also said that like chicken, cooking surfaces used to prepare hamburger should be carefully washed after the food is prepared.

“You have to consider ground beef as a risk food that should never be consumed raw or undercooked,” said Fannin, whose department has been monitoring the problem of tainted meat.

The county’s warning comes on the heels of a strongly worded statement released in Washington last week by the American Gastroenterological Assn. Foundation calling federal meat inspection systems “insufficient in themselves to identify microbial contamination such as E. coli OI57:H7.”

Dr. Martin Brotman, a San Francisco physician and chairman of the foundation, said infections from the E. coli strain “pose a clear and present danger to our public health.”

Of the 11 cases reported locally, eight have required hospitalization. No deaths have been reported in the county. Two victims were siblings, ages 2 and 3, from Lancaster. The most severe case was a 69-year-old man from Canoga Park who became ill on June 22 and was hospitalized for a week.

Fannin said the county learns of only the most serious cases and suggested that there had been “many more” than 11 cases.

Local health officials have not pinpointed a specific source, such as a fast-food chain or supermarket chain. The cases have also been scattered throughout the county, Fannin said, and have been associated with home cooking as well as restaurants.

Health authorities say the bacteria--found in the intestines and feces of humans and animals--produce a range of symptoms--from mild diarrhea lasting six to seven days to bloody diarrhea. It can also cause severe abdominal cramps, low-grade fever and--in some cases--vomiting. In its life-endangering forms, it can cause renal failure.

Although steak is less susceptible than hamburger to the bacteria, the California Beef Council warns that any marinade used to flavor meat before cooking should be boiled at least a minute before being eaten and that platters used for raw roasts and steaks should be washed with hot soap and water before the cooked meat is placed back on them.

Mary Ryan, a spokeswoman for the beef council, said her organization has been issuing safe cooking and handling guidelines in English and Spanish for several months. Hamburger accounts for about 40% of beef consumed in California, she said.

“The first thing we tell anyone who eats out is if you ever get a hamburger that is pink, send it back, and don’t ever feed anything but (well-cooked) brown meat to your children,” she said.

Dr. Ben Werner, a medical epidemiologist with the state Department of Health Services, suggested that the increase this year may reflect increased testing for E. coli by doctors in the wake of the Washington deaths. “ E. coli is a lot more prevalent than people might imagine, but it is just not routinely looked for by doctors,” Werner said.

Times staff writer Julio Moran contributed to this story.