Many people do not know the hidden diseases that come along with E. Coli. There are many more health risks than the common symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting. The leading cause of death pertaining to E. Coli is actually a disease many people developing after getting E. Coli called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). Besides this disease, other health risks include abnormal kidney function, blindness, paralysis, hemorrhagic colitis, high blood pressure, seizures, and Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). The most obvious of all, would be death. Two of theses health risks are major, and lead to the most complications and will be described below. These diseases are known as HUS, and TTP.
Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (1)
This usually affects children under the age of 10 years old, but it is also known to develop in older people.This disease causes damage and reduction of red blood cells, which in turns lead to sever anemia. The blood clots caused by this also inflict damage on blood vessel walls. In turn, this disease itself can lead to many others with many worse side effects. The signs preceding a development of HUS would be bloody diarrhea, and gastrointestinal illness. HUS, as stated in our previous blog "OK so you have it....", requires much aggressive treatment and health care. When watched and treated carefully, HUS has only a 4% death rate, but as many as 15% of those who get E. Coli develop the syndrome. It is the leading cause of E. Coli related deaths.
Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic purpura (2)
This is when tiny blood vessels called thrombi form blood clots in the body, mainly in the central nervous system and kidneys. These thrombi use a high number of platelets, decreasing the number of platelets in the blood to extremely low levels. This is often times called "adult HUS", as it mainly effects the older population of E. Coli patients.
It is not uncommon to get both of these diseases when one gets E. Coli. As you can see, many serious health risks involves abnormalities in the blood (such as high-blood pressure and the forming of blood clots) which in turn lead to even bigger problems, greatly increasing the chance of death. E. Coli can be the start of a much bigger problem for those who develop these diseases, and for that reason alone it should not be taken lightly. E. Coli itself goes away within 5-10, however these diseases can leave scars that last a lifetime.
References
1. "Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome - E. Coli and HUS - Lawyer and Lawsuit." Personal Injury Lawyer MN in Best Lawyers Minnesota Wrongful Death Attorneys Minneapolis - PritzkerOlsen, P.A. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. http://www.pritzkerlaw.com/hemolytic-uremic-syndrome/.
2. "Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura - PubMed Health." A.D.A.M Inc. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001579/.
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