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Video: KTRK 13 News
Anita Hassan, Houston Chronicle
Brazos County health officials are investigating a cluster of recent infections from a rare and severe strain of E. coli.
State and county health officials said they are looking at eight possible cases of E. coli infections in the area discovered about a week and half ago. Five of the cases have been confirmed as Escherichia coli 0157:H7, a strain of the bacteria producing a toxin called shiga. It can cause severe diarrhea, kidney damage and sometimes lead to death.
The first known victims, an 18-month-old and his 4-year-old brother from College Station, are being treated at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, officials said.
Both boys suffered from hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, a type of kidney failure that can result from this particular strain of E. coli, as well as other health complications, Texas Children’s officials said. Their conditions have been upgraded from critical to fair.
The other six victims are college-age or older and were not hospitalized, said Dr. Eric Wilke, health authority for the Brazos County Health Department. Health officials are still trying to confirm whether three of the cases are, indeed, E. coli infections.
[…] Wilke said investigators are working to pinpoint the source of the bacteria – found in contaminated meats, produce, and occasionally water – to prevent any further cases. They are currently interviewing all victims to record all the food they’ve eaten recently.
[…] There have been six cases of E. coli this year in Harris County, but officials have not found anything suspicious about the incidents, according to Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services spokeswoman Martha Marquez.
Symptoms associated with the shiga-producing E. coli include severe stomach cramps, watery and often bloody diarrhea as well as vomiting. Most people infected improve within five to seven days, but children under age 5 and people over 65 are at greater risk of further complications.
(Read the complete story at Chron.com)
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