In the USA, a bacterial outbreak at McDonald’s sparks excitement. A person died. What is behind an infection with E. coli?
Cases of coliform infections after a visit to McDonald’s have been reported in ten states in the USA. As the American health authority CDC announced, 49 cases of the disease were registered. “The actual number of people sick in this outbreak is likely much higher,” the report said. The first outbreaks of the disease were registered on September 27th. An elderly person died.
But how could it come to this? t-online answers the most important questions about the outbreak.
Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a naturally occurring germ in the intestines of humans and animals. The bacterium was named after its discoverer Theodor Escherich.
Outside the intestine, certain strains can cause serious illnesses. One strain is EHEC (enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli). It occurs in the intestines of ruminants such as cattle, sheep, goats, deer or deer and produces a poison (Shigatoxin) that can cause diarrhea in humans, sometimes with serious complications. Because of the cell toxin they produce, this strain is called Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). It includes around 400 different subtypes. One of them triggered the outbreak at McDonald’s. Here, ten to 100 germs are enough to infect people.
Poor hygiene is the cause of the spread of bacteria. STEC infections usually occur through the consumption of contaminated food, such as insufficiently heated and undercooked meat or insufficiently cooked vegetables. Fruits and raw milk (or products made from it such as raw milk cheese) can also contain the bacteria.
Transmission can also occur by touching infected animals (e.g. in a petting zoo) and then bringing your hand (unwashed) to your mouth. Smear infections are also possible. EHEC sufferers excrete the pathogen through their stool, and the smallest traces can be transmitted through hand contact. The excretion of the bacteria usually takes five to 20 days, sometimes even longer,
Three to four days (sometimes later) after infection, diarrhea and severe abdominal cramps usually occur, and often nausea and vomiting. Severe cases are characterized by bloody diarrhea and sometimes fever.
The dreaded hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) can develop as a life-threatening complication. The cell toxins produced by the bacteria attack the blood vessels, red blood cells and the kidneys. However, this serious complication rarely occurs. But: Despite intensive treatment, up to five percent of HUS cases can be fatal. Kidney damage can occur in up to 20 percent of patients.
Infection can also cause damage to the nervous system or other organs such as the pancreas and heart. And: Symptom-free infections are also possible.
Children under the age of six as well as older and/or immunocompromised people are particularly at risk.
Depending on the severity of the disease, the disease is usually treated symptomatically. The administration of antibiotics is controversial because they can prolong the excretion of bacteria. The contact person is the family doctor.