Two more diseases were detected E. coli an outbreak involving unpasteurized cheese and milk, The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday. The products’ manufacturer, California-based Raw Farm, continues to deny a link and has refused to issue a recall.
At least nine people in three states have been sickened, according to the FDA, two more cases since this year. The outbreak was announced earlier this month. Three of the nine cases required hospitalization, and one developed a life-threatening complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, which causes a type of kidney failure.
Outbreak investigators interviewed eight of the nine people who became ill. All eight reported consuming unpasteurized dairy products. One person could not remember the brand, but the remaining seven all chose Raw Farm products. Five people ate Raw Farm’s raw cheddar, and two people drank Raw Farm’s raw milk. Whole genome sequencing E. coli isolates from patients show high similarity, suggesting that they came from a common source.
The FDA emphasized that more than half of the people who became ill in this outbreak were under the age of 5. Children under 5 years of age are particularly susceptible to severe complications, including HUS E. coli In this epidemic producing Shiga toxin E. colior STEC.
In an infectionSTEC enters the intestines and enters the mucous layer where it begins to secrete a toxin. The toxin can bind to a receptor (Gb3) on certain cells and stop protein production, causing cell death and inflammation. During the progression to HUS, the toxin enters the bloodstream and has the ability to kill cells throughout the body. However, the small blood vessels in the Kidney (which have the highest prevalence of the Gb3 receptor) are the most sensitive. Flooded with toxin the small blood vessels of the kidney are damagedred blood cells begin to burst, platelets form clots, and vessels begin to completely close, causing parts of the kidney to die and the body’s red blood cells and platelets to decrease.
