HUS E coli in Wisconsin Possibly Connected to Petting Zoo
A young child with E. coli-related hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in Wisconsin may have been sickened at a petting zoo. The child, an 18-month-old girl from Lomira, Wisconsin, is battling HUS complications, including HUS kidney failure. She is expected to remain hospitalized for several weeks at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
The toddler’s father, told The Northwestern that his family wants all parents to know what can happen with E. coli and the signs to watch out for. HUS develops in five to 15 percent of people who contract shiga toxin-producing E. coli — mostly E. coli 0157:H7 — and children under 5 are the most susceptible of any age group.
The sick child developed a low-grade fever about five days after visiting the petting zoo on July 25. When she developed bloody diarrhea, they rushed her to the emergency room at St. Agnes Hospital. The next day they brough her to see her pediatrician and she was admitted to the hospital because she was dehydrated. When her kidneys failed, she was transported to the hospital in Milwaukee. She remains on dialysis and has been receiving blood transfusions.
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