Escherichia coli O157:H7 and the hemolytic-uremic syndrome

Article Abstract:

Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections pose a serious threat to health. This bacterium is believed to cause about 20,000 cases of diarrheal illness in the U.S. and 250 deaths annually. Young children and the elderly are at greatest risk. The most common method of transmission is through consuming undercooked ground beef. E. coli 0157:H7 contaminates the cow carcass and grinding meat transfers it from the outside, where it would be killed during cooking, to the inside. The disease may also be transmitted through drinking or swimming in contaminated water or through contact with infected persons. Reinfection is possible. Most people recover in about a week, but about 6% of patients develop hemolytic-uremic syndrome, a form of kidney failure. Of these patients, 3% to 5% die and 5% have permanent neurologic damage and end-stage kidney disease. There is no known effective therapy.

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An outbreak of gastroenteritis and fever due to Listeria monocytogenes in milk

Article Abstract:

An outbreak of gastrointestinal illness caused by the bacterium Listeria in the Midwest was traced to contaminated chocolate milk from a single dairy. Fifty-four people became ill after drinking chocolate milk at a picnic in Illinois in July, 1994. Listeria monocytogenes was isolated from the milk and from some samples at the dairy. Three other people in Wisconsin and Michigan developed Listeria infection after drinking chocolate milk provided by the same dairy. The Listeria strain in these cases was identical to the strain that caused illness at the Illinois picnic.

Health aspects, Causes of, Demographic aspects, Listeriosis, Milk contamination, Gastroenteritis

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Escherichia coli and the hemolytic-uremic syndrome

Article Abstract:

Hemolytic-uremic syndrome is characterized by hemolytic anemia and kidney failure. In the US, about 75% of all cases are caused by E. coli type O157:H7. However, a 1996 report details the isolation of E. coli type O103:H2 from a 6-year-old girl who developed hemolytic-uremic syndrome. The bacterial toxin responsible for hemolytic-uremic syndrome is coded by genes on a bacteriophage, a virus that could infect other strains of E. coli. Human infection by type O103:H2 is not common in the US, but has been found in France.

Editorial

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