Escherichia coli (pronounced /ˌɛʃɪˈrɪkiə ˈkoʊlaɪ/) (E. coli), is one of many species of bacteria living in the lower intestines of mammals, known as gut flora. When located in the large intestine, it assists with waste processing, vitamin K production, and food absorption. Discovered in 1885 by Theodor Escherich, a German pediatrician and bacteriologist,[1] E. coli are abundant: the number of individual E. coli bacteria in the faeces that a human defecates in one day averages between 100 billion and 10 trillion.[citation needed] However, the bacteria are not confined to the environment, and specimens have also been located, for example, on the edge of hot springs. The E. coli strain O157:H7 is one of hundreds of strains of the bacterium that causes illness in humans.
If E. coli bacteria escape the intestinal tract through a perforation (hole or tear, for example from an ulcer, a ruptured appendix, or a surgical error) and enter the abdomen, they usually cause peritonitis that can be fatal without prompt treatment. However, E. coli are extremely sensitive to such antibiotics as streptomycin or gentamycin, so treatment with antibiotics is usually effective. This could rapidly change, since, as noted below, E. coli quickly acquires drug resistance.[3]
Certain strains of E. coli, such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, Escherichia coli O121 and Escherichia coli O104:H21, are toxigenic (some produce a toxin very similar to that seen in dysentery). They can cause food poisoning usually associated with eating unwashed vegetables and contaminated meat (contaminated during or shortly after slaughter or during storage or display). O157:H7 is further notorious for causing serious, even life threatening complications like HUS (Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome).
There... my hospitalization cause. I was having high fever since Friday and it didn't subside till Tuesday evening. On Tuesday evening, my temperature was up till 40'c. It was a nightmare. Admitted into Island Hospital that same night and discharged after one week of antibiotics. Currently I'm still on medication and MC.Will post more details soon and maybe pictures. *-^
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