To best protect yourself against E. coli infections
Know your risk of food poisoning. People at higher risk for foodborne illness are pregnant women and newborns, children, older adults, and those with weak immune systems.
Consult your healthcare provider if you think you might be ill with E. coli infection.
Practice proper hygiene, especially good hand washing
Wash your hands thoroughly after using the bathroom, changing diapers, and before preparing or eating food.
Wash your hands after contact with animals or their environments (at farms, petting zoos, fairs, even your own backyard).
Always wash your hands before preparing and feeding bottles or foods to an infant, before touching an infant's mouth, and before touching pacifiers or other things that go into an infant's mouth.
Keep all objects that enter infants' mouths (such as pacifiers and teethers) clean.
If soap and water aren't available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. These alcohol-based products can quickly reduce the number of germs on hands in some situations, but they are not a substitute for washing with soap and running water.