Minnesota Child with HUS Associated with Consumption of Raw Milk
A Minnesota toddler has been hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) after consuming raw milk, according to the Star Tribune.
The Minnesota HUS case is part of an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections. Three of the four E. coli cases are linked to unpasteurized milk produced at the Hartmann Dairy Farm in Gibbon, Minnesota, also known as M.O.M.s, or Minnesota Organic Milk.
Hemolytic uremic syndrome is characterized by damage and destruction of the red blood cells, which leads to a lower than normal number of red blood cells (a condition called anemia), blood clots, and damage to blood vessel walls. Complications of HUS are severe and can include the following:
- Hemolytic anemia and associated blood complications
- Abnormal kidney function
- HUS Kidney failure (renal failure) that may require a kidney transplant (renal transplant) - illness accompanying kidney failure is called uremia (develops when urea and other waste products are retained in the blood)
- Gall stones - probably caused by rapid hemolysis, breaking open of red blood cells and the release of hemoglobin
- Elevated pancreatic enzyme levels that could lead to insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and or HUS pancreatitis
- Central Nervous System (CNS) disturbances such as irritablilty, behavior changes, disorientation, delerium, hallucinations, dizziness and tremors
- HUS Seizures
- HUS Coma
- HUS Stroke
- HUS Encephalopathy
- Respiratory disease syndrome
- Convulsions
- Heart problems, including heart attack (myocardial infarction), cardio myopathy, cardiogenic shock, congestive heart failure (HUS heart attack and heart failure)
- Cortical blindness, caused by damage to the visual area in the brain's occipital cortex
- HUS Thrombocytopenia (platelet deficiency in the blood)
- Death
Many people who suffer this devastating illness have life-long and very severe medical problems that show up long after the acute phase of the illness is over. This is one reason why it is important to contact an HUS lawyer to discuss your legal rights.
As in this case, many HUS victims are children. Their parents suffer along with them. The fear and uncertainty of loving a child with chronic medical problems is a constant stressor that intrudes on the parents and siblings of a child with HUS.
A recent medical journal article supports the notion that the impact of HUS is not limited to the disease survivor. The paper, Emotional and Behavioral Changes in Parents of Children Affected by Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome Associated With Verocytotoxin-Producing Escherichia Coli: A Qualitative Analysis, concludes:
This [data] demonstrated that intense emotional distress was commonplace at the 1-year follow-up, demonstrating that emotional strain is present long after the acute phase of the child’s illness. The finding that fear of unknown long-term repercussions, relapse, and reinfection were still causing distress and rumination 1 year later suggests that dealing with an infected child is chronic stressor…
On a personal note, my wife and I are the parents of 25 year-old young man with a genetic disorder characterized by physical and cognitive challenges. Loving a child with medical issues is one of the most challenging problems faced by parents. It affects virtually every family decision and not a day goes by without its consequences reverberating throughout the home.
Are parents compensated for this emotional stress? The answer is two-fold: it depends on the law of the state in which the illness occurred and, sadly, not enough.
Many states only allow recovery for the diseased individual. Some allow recovery, but only in cases in which the parent was in the “zone of danger” (meaning they were at risk for injury as well). Fewer still recognize the obvious harm and loss that parents suffer when their children face a life of medical problems related to E. coli O157:H7-induced Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome. It’s never right when common sense and the medical literature recognizes a problem for which the law offers little or no remedy.
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