Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome, the specific illness that caused the deaths, undermines the kidneys, making them fail acutely. It also triggers blood disorders
WITH THE number of cases of serious illness due to the bacterium E.coli continuing to rise in Germany and with the infection affecting nationals of other countries who had travelled to Germany, the outbreak is already one of the biggest ever seen.
Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome (HUS), the specific illness that
has caused at least 16 deaths and led to hundreds of people requiring treatment in intensive care is a serious complication of infection with a certain type of E.coli.
Intestinal bacteria that produce poisonous toxins such as Shiga toxin producing E.coli (STEC) cause the kidneys to fail acutely and also cause blood disorders. The term “haemolytic” refers to the destruction of red blood cells by the toxin and to an associated drop in platelets. Uraemic refers to high levels of urea found in the blood as the kidneys, which normally excrete urea from the body, fail.
E.coli is a common bacterium with many subtypes. Some live in our bodies without causing harm. But a small number of subtypes cause serious illness. E.coli 0157, found in contaminated meat, can cause a similar syndrome to the 014 version, which has been identified as the cause of the current outbreak.
Contaminated cucumbers are suspected of being the source of infection; contamination could have occurred where the vegetables are grown or may have been picked up along the supply chain to Germany.
But as testing continues, authorities have also warned that tomatoes and lettuce could be implicated as a source. And the bug could also be spread by an infected person preparing food for others.
STEC infection typically causes bloody diarrhoea and abdominal pain. But it is the toxin that does the real damage and has led to one-third of patients (with STEC) at Bremen hospital requiring dialysis. Doctors there have also reported running out of supplies of the blood product plasma.
The incubation period for STEC is two to 10 days and there is usually about a week between the onset of diarrhoea and the beginning of HUS.
So far, young to middle-aged adults and women seem to be predominantly affected by serious complications.