Two siblings die of E. coli infection

Two children from the same family have died from a deadly form of E. coli, with officials from Public Health England admitting they did not yet know what led to the infection. The siblings, whose names and ages have not been released, were from the Charnwood area of Leicestershire and were treated in the past two weeks. There were fears last night of a wider outbreak as inspectors and health officers continued to investigate the course of contamination.

TWO children from the same family have died after contracting a deadly form of E. coli, Public Health England (PHE) has confirmed, as officials admitted they had no idea what led to the infection.

There were fears last night of a wider outbreak as inspectors and health officers continued to investigate the course of contamination.

The children, whose names and ages have not been released, were from the Charnwood area of Leicestershire and were treated in the past two weeks.

The siblings died after their kidneys were affected with a complication of ecoli called haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The strand typically affects elderly people and young children. Last night experts at PHE warned that people could become infected with e-coli in a number of ways, including contaminated food, contact with farm animals and infected water.

Dr Lauren Ahyow, the consultant in communicable disease control at PHE East Midlands, said: “E. coli is an infection that causes a spectrum of illness ranging from mild through to severe bloody diarrhoea, mostly without fever.

“Sometimes the infection can cause a condition called haemolytic uraemic syndrome which affects the kidneys and can be very serious.” She said young children and elderly people are more prone to development of complications associated with E. coli.

“E. coli can be acquired through a number of routes including contaminated food, contact with farm animals and infected water.

“PHE are working with partners to investigate further to try and determine a source of infection,” added Dr Ahyow. “People can be reassured that E. coli is a relatively rare infection. Good hand-hygiene for all and supervised hand-hygiene for small children is essential to minimise the risk of developing an infection such as E. coli.”

The bug is a species of bacterium found in the intestines of animals and humans. Most types of the bacterium live in the intestine harmlessly, but others can cause a variety of diseases, including cystitis, meningitis and diarrhoea.

There are typically hundreds of cases of patients becoming infected every year in the UK, although it very rarely leads to fatalities.

It has not yet been revealed how the children contracted E. coli, but PHE said that it was working with partners to try to “determine a source of infection”.

In 2016, two people died following an outbreak in the UK which saw more than 150 people infected with E. coli that they picked up from mixed salad leaves.

And in June this year, five people died and 197 were stricken with illness following a deadly outbreak that has reached 35 states in the US, health officials reported.

PHE said that its thoughts were with the family at this “extremely difficult time”.

A Charnwood Borough Council spokesman confirmed that its environmental health officers had taken out sample kits to the family home.

‘People can be reassured that E. coli is a relatively rare infection. Good handhygiene for all is essential’