All About E. coli O157:H7
What is E.Coli O157:H7? | Where does it come from? | How does it infect people? | Symptoms and risks.
Symptoms & Risks
A pediatric nephrologist’s view of E. coli O157:H7
As the Walkerton, Ontario situation shows, an E. coli O157:H7 infection can cause both immediate and long-term health effects. Dr. Colin White, a paediatric nephrologist from British Columbia, has many years of experience with such cases.
In fact, he was completing his training in paediatric nephrology at the Children’s Hospital of Western Ontario in London when the Walkerton water crisis happened, and has seen between 60 and 80 children with Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) in his years of practice. He calls HUS one of the most challenging diseases he and his colleagues face.
“This particular bacterium releases a poison into the bloodstream that damages cells within the lining of the blood vessels. The blood vessels shrink in size, which leads to damage and breakdown of both the red blood cells and the platelets,” says Dr. White. “Because of the large number of blood vessels in the kidneys, this damage does lead in many people to quite significant renal damage. The vessel damage can actually cause problems with any organ in the body, more commonly the pancreas, liver, brain and occasionally, lungs and heart.”
Renal or kidney damage from HUS can be quite severe in some patients. Some may even develop a need for ongoing dialysis and or a kidney transplant many years after the actual illness. Some studies also suggest that the infection may cause long term damage to the intestinal tract, which can cause colitis or other gastrointestinal illnesses.
Dr. White describes the time spent with newly admitted children affected with HUS, when it is unknown what will happen in the ensuing hours. They could face dialysis (approximately half of the affected children require this procedure), he says, be given blood transfusions, or they could die.
“I have seen at least one death out of the patients I’ve taken care of. And there are a number of other complications that are significant,” says White. “I’ve seen children who, although they survive the disease, have had serious brain injuries.”
People of any age can become infected with E. coli O157:H7, but those who are very young (less than five years old) or very old are more likely to become severely ill from it. There continues to be an up to 7% death rate among infected individuals who develop HUS.
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