Less long-term consequences in patients with Ehec

Two years after Ehec long-term consequences go back in patients

03/10/2013

After a Ehec epidemic in Germany scared Germany in 2011, some patients still suffer from long-term consequences of the infection. A study of those affected at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) showed that the number of people with long-term injuries is decreasing.

Ehec's severe form can lead to kidney failure
A total of 120 patients were invited to the investigation in the UKE, in which the particularly severe form of Ehec, the hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), was diagnosed. 73 of them appeared. It showed that only six percent of the examined patients had an elevated blood creatinine level. The value provides information about the functioning of the kidney. In the study last year, this value was still increased in 14 percent of those affected. After the release of patients in 2011, it was even 59 percent, said kidney specialist Professor Rolf Stahl from the UKE to the news agency „dpa“. „It is a very welcome change“, commented the physician, the result of the investigation. Nevertheless, these figures are merely a tendency for improvement. „It is not a long-term observation, so we should wait for the data from five years“, explained steel.

Another part of the study was to check the protein content in the urine of the patients. The value can give an indication of kidney damage. While in 2011, 85 percent of those affected had an elevated protein content in the urine, this year it was only 25 percent. „The values ​​in the urine are only very low“, reported steel. By now, only 15 percent of patients need high-pressure medication. In 2011, that still affected 40 percent. Nevertheless, the kidney specialist warned against too much euphoria. It must be awaited further development.

Authorities analyze Ehec outbreak in 2011
As Stahl further explained, part of the results of the UKE was to be funded by the Federal Ministry of Health „Analysis of the Ehec / Hus outbreak in May / June 2011“ flow. The evaluation is being developed in cooperation with UKE, the University Medical Center Hannover, Kiel and Lübeck as well as the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The aim is to create a comprehensive database of all patients affected by Ehec in 2011.

In 2011, 53 people died in the largest Ehec outbreak in Germany - mostly kidney failure. A Ehec infection is characterized mainly by watery, bloody diarrhea-like bowel movements accompanied by severe spasmodic abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting as well as fever noticeable. In addition, a variety of other symptoms such as kidney pain, increased liver enzymes and uraemia (uremia) may occur. In the particularly severe form of Hus, acute renal failure can occur, a life-threatening consequence of the Ehec infection.

For a long time, the origin of the Ehec bacteria (enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli) was unknown. Meanwhile, fenugreek seeds from Egypt have been identified as a source. (Ag)

Picture: Markus Wegner