Language
Country/Area
No result found
The Shadow of E. coli: O15
Globally, Escherichia coli has a wide range of variability, and certain strains have caused a lot of concern in food safety. In particular, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and its subgroup O157:H7 strains frequently cause foodborne illness and can cause serious health problems, including intestinal Escherichia coli infection (EHEC) and its consequences, such as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
While most strains of E. coli are harmless to humans, some strains can cause serious gastrointestinal disease. Especially when infecting the human large intestine, these toxins can cause gastroenteritis, colitis, and even bloody diarrhea. It can be said that the health risks caused by this type of bacteria are quite considerable.
An estimated 36,000 illnesses, 1,000 hospitalizations, and 30 deaths are reported in the United States each year due to non-O157 strains.
O157:H7 is a well-known variant, but we should not ignore other non-O157 strains, such as O26, O45, O103, O111, O121 and O145. These "big six" strains may also pose serious health risks. . The dangers of these different strains were demonstrated by the 2011 O104:H4 outbreak in Germany. This strain has both enteroaggregative and enterohemorrhagic characteristics, making the current food safety situation more complicated.
Clinical manifestations and risks
In patients infected with E. coli O157, the range of clinical manifestations is quite wide, ranging from mild diarrhea to severe abdominal pain and bloody colitis. Studies have shown that the infectious dose of the O157:H7 strain can be less than 100 bacterial cells, making it quite contagious. This type of infection is more common in the summer and in children under five years old, and is often caused by undercooked beef and unpasteurized milk and juice.
Enterhemorrhagic Escherichia coli can cause HUS in 10% of patients, a condition that can lead to acute renal failure, microangiolytic anemia, and thrombocytopenia.
In the early stages of infection, non-bloody diarrhea develops after the intestinal epithelial cells attach. The subsequent toxin production can lead to bloody diarrhea, which is often highly damaging to the body. Some studies have shown that shiga toxins can directly damage kidney and endothelial cells, which can lead to significant neurological and renal complications. Patients often experience anemia because bacterial toxins that enter the blood damage platelets and red blood cells in the body.
Treatment strategies and preventive measures
There is considerable controversy regarding treatment strategies for these infections. Although some antibiotics appear to be common choices for treating infections, they have not been proven to be effective in all cases. On the one hand, some antibiotics can trigger excessive production of toxins, aggravating the patient's condition. Therefore, the treatment strategy adopted for such infections must be cautious. In other words, the current study points to the need to avoid the use of antimotility drugs in children under ten years of age or in older patients because such drugs increase the risk of HUS.
The existence of different strains and the complexity of their pathogenic mechanisms make the treatment of EHEC a challenge in current public health.
For example, trying to block the production of toxins, such as through drugs, is more critical to preventing infection. Combined with a better understanding of the microbes that enter the gut, perhaps we can find more effective treatment options in the future.
Of course, in such circumstances, it is also extremely important to maintain good food safety habits. Are the foods that people come into contact with every day adequately inspected and processed?
