What is EHEC?

EHEC  (abbreviation of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli) is a bacterium that causes life-threatening intestinal infections. An infection with the EHEC  pathogen, which is often incorrectly referred to as a virus (EHEC virus), is usually accompanied by bloody  diarrhea  (enterohaemorrhagic colitis). Women, small children and the elderly are particularly frequently infected with the EHEC  bacterium.

Symptoms of an EHEC infection

The EHEC pathogen is highly infectious and is therefore one of the most dangerous germs by the WHO. But how does an EHEC infection develop? Just a few microbes are enough to attack an organism and cause lasting damage. A toxin is produced that destroys intestinal and nerve cells and damages blood vessels. Symptoms of an EHEC infection  are:

• Watery, bloody diarrhea
• nausea
• stomach pain
• Vomit

If these EHEC symptoms are not treated, anemia or kidney failure will occur as the infection progresses   , which can be fatal. According to the Robert Koch Institute, between 900 and 1,200 illnesses are registered in Germany every year, but most of them are mild.

EHEC: incubation period and therapy

The average incubation period of an EHEC infection is between two and ten days, on average the first EHEC symptoms usually appear after three to four days. With EHEC diagnostics, the liquid stool of the patient is examined with a screening in the laboratory. The aim is to isolate the pathogen with a toxin detection. If the diagnosis reveals an EHEC infection, treatment with  antibiotics can  follow. However, this therapy is controversial because the drugs can also aggravate the clinical picture.

In any case, it is important with  EHEC therapy  to compensate for the loss of salt and fluids caused by diarrhea. In severe cases, a hospital stay is necessary, where the patients have to undergo dialysis treatment to  clean the blood  . Blood transfusions and plasma exchange are also occasionally used in EHEC infections. In principle, however, the EHEC bacterium cannot be treated properly, which is why infection is best prevented through hygiene and caution.

HUS and EHEC

The highly aggressive bacterial strain O104:H4 caused the EHEC infections to spread extremely quickly. While around 1,000 EHEC infections per year are normally reported in Germany, between May 1st and June 15th, 2011 there were already 3,244 cases and 36 fatalities. A disproportionately large number of those affected developed the haemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), which occurs in a particularly severe course of an EHEC infection.

HUS can lead to kidney failure and anemia, which is sometimes life-threatening. How exactly these severe EHEC infections including HUS came about is still not clear. However, experts suspect that the pathogen was transmitted by eating raw sprouts.

Prevent EHEC bacteria

EHEC bacteria occur naturally in the intestines of farm animals such as cattle, sheep and goats, and occasionally also in wild animals. Therefore, the EHEC bacterium is often transmitted when eating raw meat, fresh  milk  or raw vegetables. Strict caution should therefore be exercised when preparing food: Always rinse cutting boards, knives and other accessories thoroughly with hot water when cooking with meat, buy UHT milk instead of fresh milk and wash raw vegetables well, especially if they have been fertilized with liquid manure. As a preventative measure, all fresh food should be heated at 70 degrees for at least ten minutes to kill the EHEC pathogen.

 In principle, the usual hygienic measures apply: Wash your  hands thoroughly with soap before preparing food, before eating and after going to the toilet  , clean the kitchen and bathroom regularly and keep as far away as possible when coming into contact with animals in order to avoid EHEC bacteria walk.