Pathogens-+kat

=Escherichia Coli (E Coli)=
 * E Coli are a large and diverse group of bacteria.
 * [[image:e_coli.jpg]]
 * Some strains of E Coli can make you sick and cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory infections, and pneumonia.
 * Some kinds of E Coli can cause disease by making a toxin called //Shiga toxin//.
 * The bacteria that make these toxins are called “Shiga toxin-producing” //E. coli//, or STEC for short.
 * People of any age can be infected with STEC infections.
 * Children and elderly people are more likely to develop severe illness and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) than others.
 * But older healthy children and young adults can become seriously ill as well.
 * The symptoms of STEC include
 * Severe stomach pain
 * [[image:stomacheache.jpg width="114" height="118"]]
 * Diarrhea (bloody)
 * Vomiting
 * There can be a fever, but its not very high
 * Most people get better in 5-7 days
 * Some infections are mild, while others are life threatening
 * The complications with STEC infections very severe and are life threatening
 * People can develop the life threatening disease hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
 * [[image:HUS.jpg width="237" height="175"]]
 * Persons with HUS should be hospitalized because their kidneys may stop working and they may develop other serious problems.
 * Most persons with HUS recover within a few weeks, but some suffer permanent damage or die.
 * The time between ingesting STEC and feeling sick is called the "**incubation period**".
 * The incubation period occur 3-4 days after ingesting the bacteria
 * HUS occurs about 7 days after the first symptoms
 * STEC lives in the gut of ruminant animals like cattle, goats, sheep, elk, and deer.
 * People mainly get it from cattle.
 * The bacteria that gets humans sick, doesn't get animals sick.
 * The infection starts when you ingest STEC, which is ingesting tiny amounts of animal or human feces in your mouth.
 * This happens more than we think.
 * Exposures result from contaminated food and unpasteurized milk (raw), or anything that has been contaminated with feces.
 * There are about 70,000 of E coli infections each year in the United States.
 * E Coli can be treated by staying hydrated.
 * Antibiotics should NOT be used to treat this infection.
 * [[image:e-coli.jpg]]

__**Info source:**__ http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/dfbmd/disease_listing/stec_gi.html

http://www.astrographics.com/GalleryPrints/Display/GP2144.jpg http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/images/stomacheache.jpg http://foodpoisoning.pritzkerlaw.com/ecoliclump2.jpg http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/zentral/ztl/grafiken_bilder/bilder/e-coli.jpg
 * __Picture sources:__**