E. Coli Infection
E. coli are bacteria that can cause an infection in various parts of your body, including your intestines. E. coli bacteria normally live in the intestines of people and animals. Most types of E. coli do not cause infections, but some produce a poison (toxin) that can cause diarrhea. Depending on the toxin, this can cause mild or severe diarrhea.
This condition can spread from one person to another (contagious). Toxin-producing E. coli can also spread from animals to humans. Most cases of E. coli infection come from cattle.
In some cases, this infection can cause a dangerous complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
CAUSES
Causes of an E. coli intestinal infection include:
• Eating raw or undercooked beef
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• Do not drink milk, caffeine, or alcohol.
• Eat small, frequent meals rather than large meals.
General Instructions
• Take over-the-counter and prescription medicines only as told by your health care provider.
• Wash your hands thoroughly before and after preparing food and after using the bathroom. Make sure people who live with you wash their hands often too. If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizer.
• Clean surfaces that you touch with a product that contains chlorine bleach.
• Keep all follow-up visits as told by your health care provider. This is important.
PREVENTION
• Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizer. Always wash your hands:
○ After going to the bathroom.
○ Before touching food.
○ After preparing or cooking beef.
• After touching animals at farms, zoos, or fairs.
• Do not eat raw or undercooked beef.
• Do not drink unpasteurized milk or ear cheeses made with raw milk. Do not drink unpasteurized apple cider.
• Wash cutting boards, counters, and utensils after preparing raw meat.
• Wash all fruits and vegetables before eating or cooking
Some cases are severe and patients can develop hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, which is a type of kidney failure. There have been no cases of HUS or deaths from this outbreak.
Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a member of the Enterobacteriaceae family of organisms. It is a non-spore forming, facultative anaerobic, gram negative rod capable of growing on a variety of media and, similar to other members of the Enterobacteriaceae family, contains the enterobacterial common antigen. Most E. coli are part of the normal flora of the human gastrointestinal tract, however some strains are pathogenic and capable of causing clinical disease. Epidemiologic classification of E. coli is based on the expression of certain surface antigens. The three of greatest importance are the somatic O polysaccharide (part of the lipopolysaccharide or Gram negative endotoxin), the K antigens (part of the capsule), and the H antigens (flagellin proteins). The bacteria regulate the expression of these antigens through antigenic phase variation. This process allows the organism to selectively express or not express the antigens, which aids in protection from antibody-mediated cell death. Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) are strains that produce exotoxins (particularly verotoxins) that result in hemorrhage of the intestinal mucosa. There are several serotypes of EHEC; the most clinically significant is O157:H7.
Viruses in the ocean, as products of human activities, are potentially dangerous contaminants of many coastal waters. Total coliform bacteria are a collection of relatively harmless microorganisms that live in large numbers in the intestines of man and warm- and cold-blooded animals. They aid in the digestion of food. A specific subgroup of this collection is the fecal coliform bacteria, the most common member being Escherichia coli or E.Coli. These organisms may be separated from the total coliform group by their ability to grow at elevated temperatures and are associated only with the fecal material or warm-blooded animals. Fecal Coliform is the bacterium that forms in water from fece of humans and other warm-blooded animals. These types of feces can enter directly by animals, such as birds, by discharging into river. Feces also enter water by agricultural and storm run off carrying animal waste, and human sewage discharge.(www.stale.ky.us) The presence of fecal coliform bacteria in aquatic environments indicates that the water has been contaminated with the fecal material of man or other animals. Fecal coliform is not dangerous itself. Its the pathogens that may be found along with fecal coliform that is harmful. Human pathogenic viruses are not only found in the millions of gallons of variously treated human wastes dumped directly into coastal waters from sewage outfalls, but also from runoff from numberous storm drain sewers. Fecal coliform measures are important because they can help determine the probability of contracting a disease from the water. So, the more fecal coliform, the higher the probability of a disease causing bacteria being found in the water.
...ft on surfaces like the raining on the bus and insects that can bite you and infect you. Since you know you are going to be in contact with them, you have to take precautions not to get sick. The best way to do this is to eat a well-balanced diet making sure your food is cooked properly and handled properly. You should also make sure to wash your hands frequently. You should especially wash them before eating to stop microorganisms from getting on your food and then into your body. You should also thoroughly wash your hands after using the bathroom to prevent the spread of germs. Washing your hands is also important after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. You should also wash your hands before and after touching a cut or wound. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that proper hand washing is the best way to prevent the spread of infection.6
Many people die a year from infection. Infection is one of the leading causes of death. There are many different precautions to prevent infection that are well known. However, anyone is susceptible to infection, healthy or not. I am healthy person physically and mentally. However, a healthy person can still be susceptible to infection. I was infected by the bacteria Escherichia coli, more commonly known as E. coli. While infected by a pathogen my body went through all of the periods of illness because the bacteria had made it through four out of five components that made it lethal. It led to a major kidney infection.
Enterococci are normally found inhabiting the large bowls of humans but are also a part of the intestinal micro flora in mammals and birds. Enterococci are also found in soil, plants, and water. Normally, you do not find E. faecalis in water but there are other species of Enterococci that have been found in water due to contamination. Often from feces. E. faecalis is considered an assorted species because it mingles with many different organisms and has an effect on the environment. Some of the ways that E. faecalis can be transmitted in the environment are by various insects and animals. House flies are a good example of how the bacterium is transmitted because where they live there are live microbial communities present. Normally they are found around...
Wash your hands frequently, especially after toilet visits, caring a sick person or changing diapers and before eating or preparing
The human body is actually a complex ecosystem comprising of fauna representing all three major domains of life, namely bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes. This is because its various surfaces such as skin, oral cavity, vaginal mucosa, respiratory passages, and, most importantly, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are colonized by a wide variety of microorganisms. The microbiota “organ” is the central bioreactor of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, populated by a total of 1014 bacteria and characterized by a genomic content (microbiome) which represents more than 150 times the human genome. Nearly 99% of microbes in the human gut belong to 1000–1200 bacterial species, placed in one of the four phyla, namely Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria3 with little representation from the other bacterial phyla.
Medical asepsis plays an integral role in infection control within a health care facility. It includes procedures used to decrease and prevent direct contact with blood or bodily fluids and emphasizes keeping the environment clean on a regular basis (Curchoe, Astle, & Hobbs, 2014). In order to achieve optimal health, individuals depend on practices and techniques that control and ultimately prevent the transmission of infection. These practices and techniques can help avoid the transmission of infections by creating an environment that protects both health care workers and patients from communicable diseases. Good hand hygiene has been stressed as the single most important measure to prevent cross-infection to patients in health care facilities
“Researchers in London estimate that if everyone routinely washed their hands, a million deaths a year could be prevented” (“Hygiene Fast Facts”, 2013, p. 1). Hands are the number one mode of transmission of pathogens. Hands are also vital in patient interaction, and therefore should be kept clean to protect the safety of patients and the person caring for the patient. Hand hygiene is imperative to professional nursing practice because it prevents the spread of pathogens, decreases chances of hospital-acquired infections, and promotes patient safety. There is a substantial amount of evidence that shows why hand hygiene is important in healthcare
Take Good Care of Hygiene Well, guess what? Your mom had a point. As ridiculously simple as it may seem, washing your hands regularly with soap and hot water may be one of the most effective measures to prevent the spread of bacteria (an alcohol-based hand sanitizer will also do the trick).
Microbes are microscopic life forms, usually too small to be seen by the naked eye. Although many microbes are single-celled, there are also numerous multi-cellular organisms. The human body has 10-100 trillion microbes living on it, making it one giant super-organism. Since the first link between microbes and diseases was made, people have been advised to wash their hands. Scientists, however, have recently started to investigate more closely how the microbes that call the human body home affect our health. While some microbes cause disease, others are more beneficial, working with our bodies in many subtle ways.
The infectious category refers to an infectious disease that is caused by a biological agent such as a virus, bacterium or parasite. Infectious diseases are the invasion of a host organism by a foreign replicator, generally microorganisms, often called microbes. Microbes that cause illness are also known as pathogens. The most common pathogens are various bacteria and viruses. An infectious disease is termed contagious if it is easily transmitted from one person to another. An organism that a microbe infects is known as the host for that microbe. In the human host, a microorganism causes disease by either disrupting a vital body process or stimulating the immune system to mount a defensive reaction.
Rinse off the soap using clean water. In the event that you are not using running water from the tap, fetch another bucket/bowl of clean water to wash your hands with.
Campylobacter is a bacterial pathogen that causes fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. It is the commonly identified bacterial cause of diarrhea illness in the world. These bacteria live in the intestines of birds, and most raw poultry meat has the bacteria in it. Eating undercooked chicken or other food that has been contaminated with the juices dripping from raw chicken is the most frequent source of this particular infection.