A local doctor is offering advice after a recent e. coli outbreak has been linked to 14 illnesses and one death.

The illnesses were spread across six states. They are Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, and California.

As a general rule, Doctor Dwight Sutton from the Greenview Medical Group in Bowling Green says it's best to always cook meat thoroughly and wash your hands often, just in case.

Doctor Sutton also says there are also some symptoms you can look for when it comes to this dangerous strain of e. coli.

"First of all, when it produces its toxins, it starts damaging the line of the intestines rapidly and you get all this bleeding from the gut and lots of pain. Now this may take three to eight days to start from when you ate this, to all of sudden you start feeling rotten so the first thing you're going to notice is really horrible abdominal pain, cramping, and bloody diarrhea," says Doctor Dwight Sutton from the Greenview Medical Group.

Officials are still trying to figure out the source of the outbreak.