Boy Dies After Visiting Petting Zoo, Potentially From an E. Coli-Borne Illness Called HUS
While petting zoos pose a definite risk, they aren’t the usual source of HUS outbreaks. (Photo: Getty Images)
Two young boys may have contracted hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) from E. coli exposure at a petting zoo at the Oxford County Fair in Maine. Both were hospitalized in critical condition; and one — Colton Guay — tragically died at the age of 21-months.
“It is believed that he contracted it through simple interaction with farm animals at a local fair (based on other similar cases). It began with severe diarrhea and ended with massive brain seizures that ultimately took his life,” Guay’s father, Jon, wrote on his Facebook page.
The Guay family says their Portland doctors diagnosed Colton with HUS, though the Maine Health Commission has not confirmed the link between the fair and the boys’ illness.
Those affected with HUS quickly develop acute leukemia, or the abnormal, premature breakdown of red blood cells and blood platelets, generally leading to kidney damage and, in acute cases, failure.
Over 90 percent of patients with HUS contract it from the shinga toxin that can be present in bacteria – with E. coli found in the stool of animals being the primary source Lawrence Copelovitch, MD, and an attending physician in The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Division of Nephrology, explains to Yahoo Health.
“In general, people contract HUS when in contact with some animal that gets sick — whether through a water source, contaminated food product, or petting zoos,” Copelovitch notes. “Petting zoos are a prime risk — you have farm animals stepping in stool and then it gets on their skin. Then children pet the animals and the bacteria can get on their hands and then in their mouth.”
And while petting zoos pose a definite risk, they aren’t the primary cause of E. coli — or HUS — outbreaks.
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“Bigger outbreaks occur when there is infected cattle and that cattle is then made into hamburger meat and distributed across the country,” Copelovitch says. “Because of the way hamburger is processed, it can affect lots of burgers and lots of people.”
It is important to know, though, that HUS is rarely fatal. Copelovitch explains that only 1-5 percent of all cases in children result in fatalities and that “the vast majority of children recover fully.” He explains that not only do 95 percent of all children survive HUS, but that more than 50 percent recover without any residual kidney problems, and those who do only face minor complications. Forty to 60 percent of children with HUS might need short-term dialysis and 5 to 10 percent will never recover kidney function and be in need of constant dialysis or a transplant, but, on the whole, when talking about HUS “the prognosis is excellent.”
The condition is typically treated conservatively in children: If blood pressure is high, for example, salts like potassium may be administered. For the 40 to 60 percent of children who might require short-term dialysis, it is often only a few days worth of treatment until the kidneys can fully recover on their own and resume their normal functions.
Though stories like those of the Maine petting zoo are undoubtedly tragic, it is important for parents to remember that they are also incredibly rare.
“90 percent of children who get exposed to E. coli won’t even get sick or get diarrhea,” Copelovitch says. “And of the 10 percent who do get diarrhea, only 10 percent of those children will go from diarrhea to HUS. So, a very small percent of those even exposed to E. coli will get full-blown HUS. It’s really only one percent of those exposed.”
Thus, even if there is an outbreak at a school or daycare, while children will certainly be at risk, the risk itself is not that high.
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Copelovitch also points out that parents should remember that there are lots of other reasons a child may get diarrhea and that only truly bloody diarrhea is a concern when evaluating for HUS. If a child has bloody diarrhea and then has trouble passing urine after the diarrhea stops, that’s a sign to seek further medical evaluation as those could be potential symptoms of HUS.
“Despite everything, and it’s a little bit scary now, but most of these outbreaks are easily treated,” explains Copelovitch.
When it comes to the primary source of E. coli contamination — vegetables — there’s not much parents can do. But parents can take precautions when cooking meat for their children. With a steak, the only things that matters is that the outside is cooked at a high temperature, but for ground meat like hamburger, where the entire animal is processed, whatever bacteria might be on the animal’s outside can get inside — so, when cooking for children under the age of 5, especially, also make sure to cook ground meat through all the way.
And petting zoos don’t have to be completely eliminated from weekend itineraries: Just be sure to wash hands and use hand sanitizer after touching farm animals.
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