e. coli infections in Bergen, possible outbreak

Washing hands e. coli infections in BergenWashing his hands.Photo: Heiko Junge / SCANPIX

5 people with e. coli infections in Bergen, possible outbreak

Five people have been diagnosed with e. coli infections in Bergen. The source of infection has not been found. People are advised to wash hands after eating and only eat well cooked meat.

All of the infected are adults and none of them have become seriously ill. However, two of them have been hospitalized with blooded diarrhea, reports the municipality of Bergen in a press release.

The five have been diagnosed with Enterohemoragic e. coli (EHEC). Symptoms of this can vary from uncomplicated diarrhea with fever and abdominal pain to massive blooded diarrhea.

In small children, the elderly and people with impaired immune system, the infection may cause hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) with renal failure.

Cook well, wash hands

According to Bergen municipality, several of the five were probably infected in Norway, but it has not been established whether the cases have a common source of infection and if this can be characterized as an outbreak.

The Chief officer for Infectious Deceases in Bergen provides more advice to the city’s population to prevent infection.

All foods such as mince meat , hamburgers, meatballs and the like should be well cooked. Other meat products should also be cooked well on the surface.

Vegetables eaten raw should be well washed, and unpasteurized milk and products should be avoided.

In addition, the Chief officer recommends that you wash your hands well after toilet visits, after contact with animals and before cooking.

Knives, cutlery and kitchen utensils used for raw ingredients must also be washed before being used for other foods. One should use separate cutting boards for meat and vegetables.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today

 

1 Comment on "e. coli infections in Bergen, possible outbreak"

  1. Greg Evans | 30. January 2019 at 08:53 |

    This is a nasty food poisoning, kidney loss not uncommon, worst outcome deaths among v/young and v/elderly. Source could even be sprouts, lettuce etc mince meats burgers patties most likely normal cooking kills e coli. If you don’t find source soon things could go very badly especially if the contaminated food is in widespread use and still on supermarket shelves.

Comments are closed.