Escherichia coli O157:H7 Traditional Cache

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treponema: Gone

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Hidden : 2/29/2008
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:


The infection continues.

Tooele County was an appropriate place for my cache infection to start, as it has been the repository for the Army's germs for years. This little bug has made quite a bit of news in the last few years. It has also been the subject of the Robin Cook novel Toxin.


Kingdom: Phylogenetica
Phylum: Proteobacteria
Class: Gamma Proteobacteria
Order: Enterobacteriales
Family: Enterobacteriaceae
Genus: Escherichia
Species: coli
Strain: O157:H7
 Escherichia coli O157:H7 is an enterohemorrhagic strain of the bacterium Escherichia coli and a cause of foodborne illness. An estimated 73,000 cases of infection and 61 deaths occur each year in the United States alone. Infection often leads to bloody diarrhea, and occasionally to kidney failure, especially in young children and elderly people. Most illness has been associated with eating undercooked, contaminated ground beef, drinking unpasteurized milk, swimming in or drinking contaminated water, and eating contaminated vegetables.

E. coli serotype... O157:H7 is a gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium. The letter "O" in the name refers to the somatic antigen number, whereas the "H" refers to the flagella antigen. Other serotypes may cause (usually less severe) illness, but only those with the specific O157:H7 combination are reviewed here. Other bacteria may be classified by "K" or capsular antigens. (The "O" stands for ohne Hauch [Ger. “without breath”]; "H" for Hauch; and "K" for Kapsel.) This is one of hundreds of serotypes of the bacterium Escherichia coli. While most strains are harmless and normally found in the intestines of mammals, this strain may produce Shiga-like toxins, cause severe illness, and is a member of a class of pathogenic E. coli known as enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli or EHEC. Sometimes also referred to by their toxin producing capabilities, Verocytotoxin producing E. coli (VTEC) or Shiga-like Toxin producing E. coli (STEC).

E. coli O157:H7 was first recognized as a pathogen as a result of an outbreak of unusual gastrointestinal illness in 1982. The outbreak was traced to contaminated hamburgers, and the illness was similar to other incidents in the United States and Japan. The etiologic agent of the illness was identified as a rare O157:H7 serotype of Escherichia coli in 1983. This serotype had only been isolated once before, from a sick patient in 1975.

A major source of infection is undercooked ground beef; other sources include consumption of unpasteurized milk and juice, raw sprouts, lettuce, and salami, and contact with infected live animals. Waterborne transmission occurs through swimming in contaminated lakes, pools, or drinking inadequately treated water. The organism is easily transmitted from person to person and has been difficult to control in child day-care centers.

E.coli O157:H7 is found on cattle farms and can live in the intestines of healthy cattle. The toxin requires highly specific receptors on the cells' surface in order to attach and enter the cell; species such as cattle, swine, and deer which do not carry these receptors may harbor toxigenic bacteria without any ill effect, shedding them in their feces from where they may be spread to humans. Meat can become contaminated during slaughter, and organisms can be thoroughly mixed into beef when it is ground into hamburger. Bacteria present on the cow's udders or on equipment may get into raw milk. Although the number of organisms required to cause disease is not known, it is suspected to be very small.

Eating contaminated meat (especially ground meat) or produce that has not been cooked sufficiently to kill E. coli O157:H7 can cause infection. Contaminated foods look and smell normal.

Most people recover without antibiotics or other specific treatment in 5–10 days. There is no evidence that antibiotics improve the course of disease, and it is thought that treatment with some antibiotics may precipitate kidney complications. Antidiarrheal agents, such as loperamide (imodium), should also be avoided.

Hemolytic-uremic syndrome is a life-threatening condition usually treated in an intensive care unit. Blood transfusions and kidney dialysis are often required. With intensive care, the death rate for hemolytic uremic syndrome is 3%–5%.

Congrats to Dumbledore on the FTF!!

While on a recent maintenance run, it has come to my attention that certain cachers are tearing the bottom off log sheets in my caches. This is unacceptable behavior. If you are found to have done this, your log will be deleted. Please respect my efforts and other cachers and do not modify my caches without my permission.
Proud Member of UTAG

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Y B B X H C

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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