A potential Escherichia coli outbreak that’s plagued Northeast Tennessee since mid-May has sickened two more people – bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the eight-county Northeast Tennessee region so far this year to 15.
On Friday, the Northeast Tennessee Regional Health Office announced that it confirmed the presence of the potentially fatal bacteria in two people who started showing symptoms of a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infection on June 7 and June 9. One is from Sullivan County, said Health Office Director David Kirshke.
“We are working on all of these cases,” Kirshke said, adding that his office is trying to find out whether these two new cases are in any way related to a series of 11 other confirmed E. coli cases that hit the region between May 15 and June 2. “But so far we have not found a common link between them.”
Discovered by German pediatrician Theodor Escherisch in 1885, E. coli is a rod-shaped bacterium that is typically found in the large intestines of many warm-blooded animals. While most types are harmless, others can produce toxins capable of making people sick.
These bacterial strains – which are known as Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli or STEC – can cause people to suffer from severe cramps, bloody diarrhea, vomiting and a low grade fever for a period of five to seven days. These symptoms usually show up within three to four days.
In some cases, an STEC infection can also lead to a serious medical condition known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can cause permanent kidney damage and death if it goes untreated. This condition is especially found among elderly E. coli victims and those who are very young.
People can develop an E. coli infection by coming into contact with an animal’s feces, eating fruits, vegetables and meat or drinking water that have come into contact with an animal’s feces or large intestines.
On June 5, a 2-year-old girl and her 5-year-old brother from Dryden, Va., were rushed to the Johnson City Medical Center’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit after they developed an E. coli infection. The girl died at the hospital that day while her brother was sent to another hospital for further treatment and later released.
Kirshke said his staff is diligently working with the Virginia Department of Health to figure out if there is any connection between these two children and the 13 Northeast Tennessee residents with confirmed cases.
Even though no common links have been found, the health officer said he is treating the situation like an outbreak because the dates these symptoms started showing up are in such a small period of time. He hopes test results from the two new cases that are due back next week will help his office solve the puzzle.
Last year, eight Northeast Tennessee residents – including four who lived in Sullivan County – came down E. coli infections, according to records obtained from the Tennessee Department of Health. Two more confirmed cases from Northeast Tennessee were reported to the state health department in January and February.
Nine confirmed E. coli cases were reported in Southwest Virginia’s Cumberland Plateau, Lenowisco and Mount Rogers health districts in 2010, according to records obtained from that state’s health department, while five more cases were reported in the three health districts between Jan. 1 and April 30 of this year.
Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct the total number of E. coli cases that have hit Northeast Tennessee since Jan. 1.
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