Monroe Wisconsin E. coli Outbreak Extended to Children at Grade School
E. coli testing in Monroe, Wisconsin, will be completed this week among student at Abe Lincoln Elementary School, where two students were hospitalized last week with infections and two others were sickened. State and local health officials have confirmed that the illnesses were caused by the same strain of E. coli O157:H7 that caused an outbreak in Green County this summer that killed one person and infected eight others.
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Epidemiologists are still looking for the root cause of the outbreak, but Green County Health Department Officer RoAnn Warden has said inadequate hand-washing after using the toilet or changing diapers has contributed to the spread of the pathogen.
Anyone can become infected by having contact with fecal material from infected people or animals (especially cattle), or by eating contaminated food or water. Symptoms include diarrhea, which often is bloody, and severe abdominal cramps, which typically occur three to four days after exposure to the bacteria.
While most people recover within a week, some develop a severe infection. A type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) can begin as the diarrhea is improving. This can occur among persons of any age but is most common in children under 5 years old and the elderly. Kidney failure is not the only risk of HUS. An infected person can suffer a cascading series of severe health problems that can result in paralysis, heart problems, stroke and other harms.
An extensive study of E. coli victims over the long term has shown that even people who are not hospitalized for E. coli 0157:H7 infections can suffer vascular injury that can evolve into hypertension, stroke, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure or structural and functional kidney impairment. Our national food safety law firm feels that any individual who has suffered gastroenteritis as a result of E..coli 0157:H7 exposure should have an annual assessment by a physician and a blood pressure measurement coupled with a urinanalysis, kidney function testing and other checks.
