Toddler fights For Life After Holiday Swim Infected Her With Strains of Deadly Bacteria; Here’s How E. Coli Spread
Elizabeth was swimming and boating at Oklahoma’s Keystone Lake along with her family in early June after which she began keeping unwell
A two-year-old American girl is fighting for her life after she contracted three strains of deadly E. coli bacteria. According to the doctors treating her, Elizabeth Faircloth may have permanent brain or kidney damage after the infection spread across her tiny body.
The Sun reported that Elizabeth was swimming and boating at Oklahoma’s Keystone Lake along with her family in early June, after which she began keeping unwell. While her parents thought it was a general illness caused by viruses, doctors also prescribed antibiotics for strep throat. However, the toddler saw an aggravated infection. “It blows our minds because we’ve never even heard of anything like this ever happening,” Suzanne Faircloth, the girl’s mum, said.
A little later, Elizabeth was diagnosed with three different strains of E. coli after testing positive for the bacteria. It caused Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome, or HUS – a rare life-threatening complication that causes dysfunction of various organs, including kidney failure, liver damage, and brain injury.
“It’s a nightmare,” Suzanne said. “And it happened so fast; within, like, a week, we’re here.” She is currently on dialysis and has been paralysed medically by doctors to help her recover. As of now, the doctors have used drugs to temporarily stop her muscles from moving – helping her body rest while she fights the infection. According to Suzzane, Elizabeth has an infection in her lungs, but doctors cannot give her antibiotics as it could worsen her condition. “They are working night and day; the staff is amazing, just to keep her stable,” Suzanne wrote in a social media post.
According to doctors, an E. coli infection is any illness you get from strains of E. coli bacteria causing watery diarrhoea, stomach pain, and other digestive symptoms if you accidentally ingest them. These are also known as diarrheagenic E. coli and are often what people mean when they talk about E. coli infections. Many strains of E. coli cause mild infections. However, according to experts, some of the strains – like those that produce Shiga toxin – can cause serious illness, including kidney damage.
What are the signs and symptoms of E. coli infection?
A few signs and symptoms of an E. coli infection include:
- Diarrhoea, which is often watery and sometimes bloody
- Stomach pains and cramps
- Loss of appetite
- Low-grade fever
- Pain or burning sensation when you pee
- An urgent need to pee frequently
- Cloudy, foul-smelling pee
Watery diarrhoea is usually the first symptom of an E. coli infection in your GI tract. You can also have different symptoms depending on where in your body you are infected.
You usually develop symptoms of an STEC infection within three to five days after drinking or eating foods contaminated with E. coli bacteria. Other strains can make you sick within hours. Sometimes, symptoms start up to 10 days after exposure.
How do you contract an E. coli infection?
According to experts, most of the diarrheagenic E. coli strains spread through faecal-oral transmission, which happens when bacteria from poop that is too small to see make their way into your mouth and digestive tract. Some forms are also transmitted through undercooked meat and unpasteurized beverages.
Specifically, you can get E. coli from:
- Eating contaminated foods
- Drinking unpasteurized milk
- Drinking contaminated water or getting it in your mouth while swimming or bathing
- Touching poop or contaminated surfaces
- Not wiping properly after going to the bathroom
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