From: Christine_Code@mindlink.bc.ca (Christine Code)
Newsgroups: rec.food.veg
Subject: Hamburger disease kills girl
Date: 13 Aug 92 17:45:39 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Distribution: world

Want one more reason not to eat meat?   Here's an article that appeared on the
front page of the Vancouver Sun newspaper on Wednesday, August 12, 1992.
It may be of particular interest to the lurking omnivores!

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HAMBURGER DISEASE CLAIMS GIRL, 12; FIVE CHILDREN ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL

By Rebecca Wigod
Sun Medical Reporter

A disease that normally results from undercooking meat on a backyard barbecue
is being blamed for the death of a 12-year old Langley girl and the need for
five other Lower Mainland children to have hospital treatment.

Christina Ann Fraser died last Wednesday of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS),
colloquially known as "hamburger disease."

HUS is caused by a type of E. coli bacterium found in raw meat.   Outbreaks
occur in the summer, when people turn out juicy - and frequently undercooked -
hamburgers on the backyard barbecue.

Dr. James Carter, an associate professor of pediatrics in Vancouver, said:
"Every summer, our lives are complicated by an outbreak of this disease."

The incidence of HUS seems to be growing, and experts do not know why.  Dr. Ted
McLean, the Vancouver health department's specialist in communicable diseases,
said it is "unheard of" to have six children being treated in hospital for HUS
in one week.

Carter, a kidney specialist at Children's, said the E. Coli bacterium attacks
the bowel, producing a toxin that is attracted to the kidneys, which "bear the
brunt" of its ravages.

Half of the children taken to hospital for HUS are put on dialysis.

Signs parents should watch for are bloody diarrhea, discolored urine and a pale
complexion, caused by the breakup of red blood cells.

Scott Fraser, the father of the 12-year old known to the family as Christy,
said the disease struck suddenly and progressed with unbelievable speed,
although he said he and wife Lory do not know which meal gave their daughter
the illness.

A competitive gymnast, Christy was a "very active, very healthy" girl who had
spent six hours doing gymnastics on Saturday, Aug. 2.

The following Monday, "she came to me early and complained of stomach cramps,"
said Fraser, a Vancouver police officer.

After a urine test, she was initially diagnosed with a bladder infection and
given penicillin, but she remained terribly sick all Monday afternoon.

At 6 p.m. she was admitted to Children's, where a blood test found HUS.

Fraser and his wife want people to pay more attention when children complain of
stomach pains.

Sheila Woolnough, a Vancouver mother of three, is breathing more easily now
that her two-year-old daughter Elizabeth has recovered from HUS.

Misao Yesaki, a nurse at Children's, cautions people to be more careful when
barbecuing.   These are some of her tips:

.When grocery-shopping, pick up the meat last.

.Thaw frozen meat in the microwave or in the refrigerator overnight.   If using
the refrigerator, put meat on a plate so juices won't drip and thus contaminate
other food.

.Work with raw ground meat on a plastic cutting board.   The grain of a wooden
board retains the juices.

.Make sure hamburgers are thoroughly cooked.   Put cooked patties on a fresh
plate - not the one used during preparation.

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I can't imagine why this nurse didn't suggest that people barbecue fresh
veggies, like corn-on-the cob, INSTEAD of meat.


 
--

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Christine Code                 *  Searching for members and descendants
                               *  of these families: Code, Codd, Mudgett,
Vancouver, B.C, CANADA         *  Stewart, Tetlock, Sealy, Seely, and
Christine_Code@MindLink.bc.ca  *  Willows.
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Newsgroups: rec.food.veg