A 20-month-old toddler has died after his family visited a petting zoo at the county fair.
Authorities believe that a deadly strain of E. coli was the culprit in Colton Guay’s death, which likely was caused by contact with animals at a petting zoo at the Oxford County Fair, according to a Fox News report.
Most strains of E. coli are harmless, but this particular strain was a deadly one that can result in anemia and kidney failure. Children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems are most at risk to this disease, which caused Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in Colton. HUS destroys red blood cells and disables the filtering system of the kidneys, which has the end result of organ failure. HUS is the most common cause of kidney failure in children, based on National Institutes of Health data as reported by Fox.
It has not been confirmed that the petting zoo caused Colton to come down with an infection, but authorities strongly suspect this to be the case because another toddler has contracted HUS that was also at the petting zoo.
Colton’s father, Jon Guay, and his wife Beth were reportedly devastated. Jon Guay posted on his Facebook page that they had experienced a very painful event and had to endure taking their son to the hospital and watching him suffer from severe diarrhea and brain seizures, until he eventually died at the hospital. This event happened around the same time as the couple got news that they were expecting a girl in February.
There is “no pain worse than losing the life of your [child],” he said in the post.
“I am relieved to know that he is in a better place free from any further pain or suffering,” he added. “Life is precious and can be taken from you without warning. It is truly important to let those closest to you know how much you care about them.”
County fairs often feature petting zoos, which are popular with children and can serve as a positive learning experience about animals — however, they can also be filled with germs and disease, which is why the Centers for Disease Control has even posted guidelines on how to stay safe at petting zoos. The CDC notes that many people get sick every year at petting zoos because of germs that animals carry that can be very harmful to a human. As a result, people should be taking a number of precautions.
Hand washing is the most important one. When a person visits a petting zoo, they should be aware of where washing stations are, and a person should wash immediately after petting animals or touching the enclosure. Even those who don’t touch the animals should wash their hands once leaving the area.
As for what to use, it should be adequate to just use soap and water. If no hand washing stations are immediately available, you can use hand sanitizer, but try to wash your hands as soon as possible.
Eating and drinking should be completely avoided in areas where there are animals, with the exception of service animals. And it is certainly not advised to share food with animals.
For children who are under 5 years of age, supervision is necessary at all times. Children may put their fingers or objects like a pacifier in their mouth while interacting with animals, and this should be prevented due to the tremendous risk of spreading disease. Adults should also make sure to supervise their hand washing, and make sure that they do it properly.
The culprit in this case, E. coli — short for Escherichia coli — is a rod-shaped bacterium that lives in the lower intestine of warm-blooded animals. While many strains are harmless, severe strains can result in food poisoning, and it is in fact one of the most common caused of food poisoning and a very common cause of food recalls ranging from meats to vegetables. There are often reports of food recalls involving foods like raw meats or cucumbers or just about anything that can result in the spread of the E. coli bacteria.
E. coli in reality is actually usually harmless, and it makes up 0.1 percent of your gut flora. It can even be beneficial, producing vitamin K2, and preventing pathogenic bacteria from making a home in your lower intestine and causing all manner of sickness.
It’s the bad kind of E. coli you have to watch out for. E. coli is rugged virus that can survive for a while outside the body, which is why it is so effective at spreading to other animals or humans. It is contracted through fecal to oral transmission. E. coli in some cases can even last for an extended period of time outside of a body, making it even more effective as a disease.
How do you avoid coming down with an E. coli infection? First, pay attention to risk factors. If you eat undercooked meat, drink tainted water, or consume unpasteurized dairy products, you’re more at risk of getting an E. coli infection. Also, if you work around livestock, you need to take extra precautions as you are likely to be around fecal matter all the time, and the slightest amount of contact can result in E. coli transmission.
E. coli can be prevented by regularly washing your hands. You can also avoid it by being careful with foods. Don’t cross contaminate foods by having cooked meat next to raw meat, for example. Make sure you keep food at cool or freezing temperatures by storing them properly in the refrigerator or the freezer. Don’t let meat thaw on the counter, where contaminated juices could infect other things placed on the counter. And definitely don’t eat meat that hasn’t been properly cooked, especially when it comes to poultry. Remember there is also risk for red meats like beef and pork, although not as great as poultry.
The CDC has a few things to say about the E. coli bacteria.
On what it is: “Escherichia coli (abbreviated as E. coli) are a large and diverse group of bacteria. Although most strains of E. coli are harmless, others can make you sick. Some kinds of E. coli can cause diarrhea, while others cause urinary tract infections, respiratory illness and pneumonia, and other illnesses. Still other kinds of E. coli are used as markers for water contamination—so you might hear about E. coli being found in drinking water, which are not themselves harmful, but indicate the water is contaminated. It does get a bit confusing—even to microbiologists.”
On the symptoms of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), which is a harmful strain: “The symptoms of STEC infections vary for each person but often include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting. If there is fever, it usually is not very high (less than 101˚F/less than 38.5˚C). Most people get better within 5–7 days. Some infections are very mild, but others are severe or even life-threatening.”
On the complications of a STEC infection: “Around 5–10% of those who are diagnosed with STEC infection develop a potentially life-threatening complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Clues that a person is developing HUS include decreased frequency of urination, feeling very tired, and losing pink color in cheeks and inside the lower eyelids. Persons with HUS should be hospitalized because their kidneys may stop working and they may develop other serious problems. Most persons with HUS recover within a few weeks, but some suffer permanent damage or die.”
On how soon symptoms appear: “The time between ingesting the STEC bacteria and feeling sick is called the “incubation period.” The incubation period is usually 3-4 days after the exposure, but may be as short as 1 day or as long as 10 days. The symptoms often begin slowly with mild belly pain or non-bloody diarrhea that worsens over several days. HUS, if it occurs, develops an average 7 days after the first symptoms, when the diarrhea is improving.”
On how infections are spread: “Infections start when you swallow STEC—in other words, when you get tiny (usually invisible) amounts of human or animal feces in your mouth. Unfortunately, this happens more often than we would like to think about. Exposures that result in illness include consumption of contaminated food, consumption of unpasteurized (raw) milk, consumption of water that has not been disinfected, contact with cattle, or contact with the feces of infected people. Some foods are considered to carry such a high risk of infection with E. coli O157 or another germ that health officials recommend that people avoid them completely. These foods include unpasteurized (raw) milk, unpasteurized apple cider, and soft cheeses made from raw milk. Sometimes the contact is pretty obvious (working with cows at a dairy or changing diapers, for example), but sometimes it is not (like eating an undercooked hamburger or a contaminated piece of lettuce). People have gotten infected by swallowing lake water while swimming, touching the environment in petting zoos and other animal exhibits, and by eating food prepared by people who did not wash their hands well after using the toilet. Almost everyone has some risk of infection.”