Understanding E. coli Infection and HUS

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention based out of Atlanta, Georgia, state that eight percent of people infected with the E. coli bacteria will eventually be diagnosed with Hemolytic-uremic syndrome. Hemolytic-uremic syndrome, commonly referred to as HUS, is a rare disorder, primarily afflicting young children between the ages of one to 10 years. HUS is also the leading cause of acute renal (kidney) failure in children, and Jorge A. Ramirez, MD, Chief of Pediatric Nephrology at Nemours Children's Clinic in Orlando, Florida, explains that "about 10 to 20 percent of these children will suffer from end stage renal disease, requiring chronic dialysis and/or future kidney transplant." Hemolytic-uremic syndrome can also cause neurological problems, as well as affecting the lungs, heart, brain, pancreas, large and small bowel.