TeachableMedicalNews article 07162019

Teachable moment in classrooms:

  1. cellular basis of life chapter – ligand-receptor interaction
  2. urinary system chapter – glomerular filtration through capillaries of glomerulus
  3. immune system chapter – normal immune functions destroy E. coli that enters the body; consequences of immunosuppressed state

 

Why E. coli outbreaks can be deadly?

The news item:  In 2018 this headline informed us that E. coli infections can have deadly outcomes after consuming the contaminated romaine lettuce:

E. coli outbreak linked to romaine turns deadly | CNN

One person has died from the E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona, growing region. The death, in California, is the first known fatality from this outbreak.

 

The article mentions the symptoms of diarrhea, cramps resulting from infection by some E. coli strains.  The article also mentions the deadly affliction of hemolytic uremic syndrome.