World Kidney Day is March 11 and part of raising awareness about the importance of our kidneys to our overall health is understanding that food poisoning is a major contributor to kidney failure in children.
The worldwide leading cause of kidney failure in children is hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS. Many of these cases are preventable because they stem from infections of E. coli O157:H7 or other bacteria transmitted by contaminated food. The bacteria grows harmlessly in the guts of cattle and other animals but persistently enter the human food supply via contamination from an animal’s E. coli-laden feces.
About 5 percent of the children who develop hemolytic uremic syndrome are killed by it. Those who survive are often left with permanent disabilities.
The main job of our kidneys is to remove toxins and excess water from our blood. Kidneys also help to control our blood pressure, to produce red blood cells and hormones, and to keep our bones healthy. E. coli HUS can quickly put previously healthy children and adults into end stage renal failure.
That happens because E. coli O157:H7 and some other types of E. coli emit a powerful toxin that attacks red blood cells. The damaged and misshaped cells clog up the kidneys and shut them down.
Because World Kidney Day — which is always held on the second Tuesday of March — is a visible opportunity to inform and educate health policy-makers, an appropriate part of the discussion is how to keep E. coli O157:H7 out of our food supply.
In the U.S., an important step forward in the fight against E. coli and other pathogens would be passage of a major piece of food safety legislation already passed by the House and now waiting action in the Senate.
Elsewhere in the U.S., government researchers and private labs are developing vaccines for cattle to suppress the microbe at its origin. Nothing, so far, has made much difference because outbreaks of E. coliO157:H7 have continued with disturbing frequency and scale.
In children and adults, HUS does more than just shut down renal function. HUS coma is a problem not uncommon in child HUS patients because many patients experience central nervous system disorders.
In addition, HUS seizures can be caused by vascular damage or cerebral hemorrhage. HUS seizures can also be caused by uremia (urea and other waste products staying in the blood due to kidney failure), hyponatremia (sodium levels are low and water levels are high) or other metabolic derangement.
Estimates are imprecise, but microbiologists guess that more than 70,000 Americans fall ill every year from E. coli bacterial infections, the largest source of which is contaminated ground beef. Of those infected, more than 5 percent develop life-threatening HUS E. coli. Those most at risk are children, older adults and others who have weakened immune systems.
