Health officials are still investigating what caused three children in a one-block area of Belgium, Wisconsin, to become infected with E. coli O157:H7. They all live near the intersection of Grand Avenue and Highland Drive.
The Belgium child E. coli outbreak started last month and investigators are now interviewing the children in search of possible common exposure to the bacteria. The kids have limited interaction, but they do stand together at the same bus stop.
Of the three children, two experienced lengthy hospital stays. 4-year-old Tyson Becker, for instance underwent three surgeries, dialysis and blood transfusions while fending off hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), his mother, Cara Becker, told the Sheboygan Press.
Amanda Strong, another mother of children sickened by E coli in Belgium, said she has a theory that investigators should check out: A farm tractor drove through the intersection one day last month and left piles of mud that the kids may have played in. The mud could have carried the bacteria because it is shed from cattle and other animals in manure.
E. coli o157:H7 is a potentially deadly human pathogen that emits a powerful toxin that causes extremely painful and often bloody diarrhea. In more than 5 percent of cases it develops into hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a disease that attacks a person’s red blood cells and causes severe illness including kidney failure, strokes, heart problems and other damage.
Children under 5 are the most likely victims of E coli HUS and HUS is the leading cause of child kidney failure. For answers to legal questions about E. coli outbreaks, or if you have confidential information to divulge about the Belgium E. coli outbreak, contact an E. coli lawyer at national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) .
