Primary treatment includes giving adequate fluids to prevent dehydration. Avoid eating raw, rare, or undercooked ground beef or hamburger. The bacteria in meat are killed by heat when thoroughly cooked. Cook ground beef or hamburger until the pink is gone, the juices run clear, and it is hot on the inside. Avoid raw, unpasteurized milk, or products made from such milk.
Pasteurization kills the bacteria.
Avoid drinking from untreated water supplies. Chlorine or other effective disinfectants will kill the bacteria. Careful hand-washing with soap will reduce the risk of spreading the bacteria by food handlers, in daycare settings, and by health care workers. Additional information about diarrheal illness For additional information about diarrheal illness in children, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Childhood Diarrhea site. Kits for collecting the stool sample are available from the South Dakota Department of Health's local disease intervention offices or from the State Public Health Laboratory .