France confirmed first E Coli death victim since the outbreak. The Regional. Health agency said that a 78 year old woman died of an E coli infection in Bordeaux, France. She was in an intensive care since June 24 at Bordeaux University Hospital. The strain detected on her was said to be different from that of the strain that caused 50 lives in Europe. Seven more people suffering from hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) still remained in the same hospital where the reported septuagenarian died. The said syndrome is a rare kidney condition that develops in patients infected with E coli. Six of the seven patients were confirmed to have been suffering from the same E coli strain that claimed the life of the woman.
Up to this date, no one can tell where this virulent strain originated from. Cucumbers, bean sprouts and other vegetables were speculated to be the culprit. A lot of producers are losing business due to said speculations. German authorities believed that the origin of the outbreak was Hamburg. They remained to be in the dark of the outbreak’s exact source after ruling out earlier suspicions about Spanish cucumbers. The suspicions prompted a mass recall of Spanish vegetables across the Continent that caused huge losses for Spanish farmers and considerable political upset in Madrid.
The public should be made aware that the symptoms are from mild diarrhea to bloody diarrhea, then kidney failure and bleeding disorders. With proper medical treatment, the vast majority of people will recover, Dr McNamara said. People are urged to seek immediate medical attention should they experience these symptoms. With what's being reported, I guess, we all need to be very careful and cautious in preparing our food. We still do not have the information with regard to its source and what's worse is that our government hasn't come up yet on how to control this new strain of E Coli.
For more information please see German E coli O104:H4 Outbreak.
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