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Toddler Struggles to Fight E. Coli

By Pritzker | Ruohonen

A young boy from Nebraska is in Colorado with a serious E. coli infection.  The boy, only 21 months old, became sick on August 10. According to The North Platte Bulletin, the toddler had diarrhea and was taken to the Perkins County Community Hospital, but was moved to the Great Plains Regional Medical Center after becoming severely dehydrated.   At that point, physicians informed the boy’s parents that he was suffering from E. coli, and on August 14, the decision was made to fly the toddler to the Children’s Hospital in Denver. Currently there isn’t any information about a period of recovery for the boy, nor is there any information on how the boy may have contracted E. coli or clues to a source of the infection, which is usually transmitted via contaminated food.

Serious cases of E. coli infection like this child's usually involve hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), an illness that often develops in young children who have E. coli infections.  Hemolytic uremic syndrome is the leading cause of kidney failure (renal failure) in children in the United States.  It can also lead to pancreatitis, brain and spinal cord damage and other serious conditions.

Although the name of the Nebraska boy is in news reports, we have withheld his name here out of respect for him and his family.

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on August 29, 2008 (boomark / email).