Research on Long-Term Effects of E. coli HUS
When a person is victimized by E. coli HUS food poisoning, the acute phase of disease is normally highlighted by about seven days of extremely painful diarrhea, which turns bloody in 80 percent of cases.
This symptom is severe enough in many cases to require hospitalization, with patients often treated for dehydration.
For about 85 percent of these E coli O157:H7 victims, the illness resolves and no further treatment is sought. But in the 15 percent of E coli O157:H7 infections that develop into E. coli HUS, or hemolytic uremic syndrome, patients endure myriad health problems that often lead to long-term difficulties..jpg)
A new study by the Center for Foodborne Illness, Research and Prevention of Grove City, Pennsylvania, delves into the long-term consequences. More study is needed as is indicated by authors Tanya Roberts, Barbara Kowalcyk and Patricia Buck. But the results of the current research, summarizing many previous studies, should help reinforce the seriousness of food poisoning.
National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys has summarized the study's findings as they pertain to long-term health outcomes of E. coli O157:H7 infection. The information is important to you or any loved one who has come down with E. coli, including families affected by the current multi-state Fairbank Farms ground beef E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 25 people in ten states, killing two people.
Pritzker Olsen has been in contact with victims of that outbreak and currently represents E. coli HUS victims of food poisoning. Our firm is one of the few in the country practicing extensively in this area of law. To contact an E. coli HUS attorney, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete our online contact and information form.
From the study:
E. coli HUS generally runs its course within 15 days, but once it develops, a cascading series of events can lead to serious long-term illness or premature death.
- Kidney Failure: HUS is the leading cause of kidney failure in children. Impaired urine production during HUS and the development of long-term health consequences appear related. Children with HUS whose urine output stops have more severe disease progression and usually require dialysis. These children have longer hospitalizations and have more severe complications during the course of their illness. Failure to pass urine during the acute phase of HUS has been a strong predictor of persisting abnormalities at follow-up, including chronic kidney impairment.
- Neurological Damage: It is not uncommon during the acute stage of E. coli HUS for a patient to develop seizures, have a stroke or go into a coma. These events can cause permanent neurological damage, or, more often, the effects linger for up to four years before a person recovers.
- Diabetes: Not uncommonly, E. coli HUS brings on diabetes in the acute phase. In some patients, it persists and develops into prolonged insulin-dependent diabetes.
- Gastro-intestinal Disease: A study of child E. coli HUS patients from a 1993 outbreak found that 10 percent of them developed gall stones. Another long-term consequence of infection in some documented cases involves narrowing of the small intestine or colon. Also, E. coli HUS patients have been linked to infection-induced irritable bowel syndrome, a very painful and chronic disease.
