Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection

　　The main cause of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection is its source of infection, which mainly includes patients and carriers, including infant carriers and adult carriers. It is highly contagious, primarily transmitted through direct contact, and can be spread through contaminated hands, food, or utensils. Among adults, it is often spread through contaminated food and drinking water; it may also cause disease by inhaling contaminated dust into the intestines through the respiratory tract. The peak period for onset is from May to June. It can affect people of all ages, but it is more common in children under 2 years old, and sometimes it can also affect adults, with adult cases accounting for about half in some local areas. It can occur sporadically or in outbreaks in nurseries, or cause cross-infection in hospitals, and can also lead to food poisoning. Therefore, after understanding the etiology, we should keep away from the above sources of infection and try to avoid being infected. Of course, after contacting things that may contain virus sources, it is necessary to wash hands immediately and maintain personal hygiene. In fact, under proper attention, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection is not very easy to spread, as its sources of infection are all things that can be avoided from contacting.

　　The harm of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection is significant, and its common complications include severe isotonic dehydration, metabolic acidosis, and others, which can severely damage the human body and even lead to life-threatening situations. At the same time, it may also lead to hypokalemia and hypocalcemia in the body.

　　It can lead to pneumonia, dysfunction of the heart, liver, and kidneys, and in more severe cases, sepsis may occur. Although these internal complications of the body are not easy to notice, they are still very worthy of attention, as slight changes can threaten life. These complications also serve as a warning to pay more attention. Since enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection is inherently dangerous, it is necessary to be extremely cautious in dealing with different complications, and to seek medical attention in a timely manner when necessary to ensure one's health.

　　The onset of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection is generally slow, with a common incubation period of 2 to 5 days. Of course, it can also occur acutely. There are predisposing factors such as dietary imbalance and improper addition of complementary foods.

　　Symptoms of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection are numerous, and common symptoms vary according to the severity of the condition. Mild cases do not have fever, with the main symptoms being diarrhea, with stools occurring 3 to 5 times a day, yellow in color, resembling egg yolk with lumps of milk, and in large quantities. As the condition worsens, fever, vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal distension, and toxic intestinal paralysis may occur. Before intestinal paralysis, diarrhea may worsen and may present with mucous bloody stools. At this time, it is necessary to pay close attention, as further deterioration can harm the body, and in severe cases, it can be life-threatening. Of course, unlike children, acute onset generally occurs more frequently in adult patients, who often have acute onset, with symptoms such as umbilical pain and abdominal rumbling, and a few may have urgent need to defecate, presenting with 'dysentery-like' symptoms, which require specific analysis. Of course, regardless of the situation, after these symptoms appear, one should seek medical attention immediately and not ignore them to prevent the condition from worsening.

　　As an infectious disease, the most important way to prevent enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection is to manage the source of infection and isolation. Of course, we should start from everyday life.

　　First, carry out the 'Three Management and One Eradication' activities, wash vegetables and fruits, do not drink raw water, cook meat thoroughly, heat leftover food thoroughly, and have fly-proofing equipment in the kitchen during summer.

　　Second, it is forbidden to mix humans and animals. Domestic animals and poultry in the epidemic area must be kept in pens, and the pens should be disinfected and fly-proofed regularly. Poultry and animal feces should be treated as harmless before fertilization.

　　Third, disinfect household utensils, and disinfect toilets and compost piles in the epidemic area.

　　Fourth, treat the contaminated domestic water supply system. Take disinfection measures. Strictly follow the disinfection procedures, investigate the causes of contamination, and make timely corrections. Conduct pathogen tests on fecal specimens of relevant personnel. The last point is to handle contaminated commercially sold meat and meat processing and sale places. Immediately stop sales and seal up the unsold products, investigate wholesale and sales records. Strictly implement disinfection and hygiene regulations in the processing and production process, and disinfect the processing and production places, animal feces, and waste. For personnel in close contact, in addition to conducting fecal pathogen tests when leaving their positions, early preventive medication should also be taken.

　　The laboratory results of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection show that the peripheral blood picture should be normal or slightly elevated, and the stool examination may show a few red and white blood cells, occasionally filling the field of vision, with a large number of fat globules. At the same time, based on the positive results of stool culture for Escherichia coli and positive serological typing, it is still not possible to make a definitive diagnosis. It is necessary to have both clinical manifestations and epidemiological support to diagnose the disease. Therefore, you can also judge whether a hospital has relevant authority in this disease based on the examination items. At the same time, in addition to this, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection needs to be distinguished from diseases such as dysentery, salmonella enteritis, jejuni flexis coli enteritis, viral enteritis, and roseola infantum. These diseases are easy to confuse with the disease, although some symptoms are similar, the differences are actually quite a lot. If the treatment method is incorrect, it may delay treatment or even worsen the condition. Therefore, it is very important to differentiate clearly.

　　Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection often causes enteritis, and dietary health care should be noted:

　　1. Low-fat and low-fiber. Foods with too much fat are not only difficult to digest but also often increase diarrhea symptoms due to their lubricating effect on the intestines. Therefore, patients should not eat fried, baked, cold, and high-fiber foods, and can choose easily digestible thin noodles, stewed noodles, wontons, tender leaves, fish, shrimp, eggs, and products made from beans, so that the intestines can rest. Fat should be controlled appropriately. Avoid using foods with a lot of oil and fried foods in the diet. Cook with less oil and use methods such as steaming, boiling, stewing, and braising. Avoid eating high-fat foods such as lard, mutton fat, butter, beef fat, and walnuts to prevent exacerbating diarrhea.

　　2. Foods should be easy to digest, soft with little residue, and non-irritating. Foods with little residue can reduce intestinal peristalsis, alleviate diarrhea, and can include eggs, thin noodles, porridge, etc. Foods rich in rough fiber and fruits and vegetables should be eaten less. It is appropriate to reduce the fiber content in the diet of patients with enteritis, such as chives, celery, garlic sprouts, etc., and to use foods for enteritis patients with little residue to reduce the mechanical injury that high fiber content may cause to the colonic mucosa. For patients with chronic enteritis accompanied by dehydration, some light salted water, vegetable soup, rice soup, fruit juice, rice porridge, etc. can be drunk to supplement water, salt, and vitamins.

　　3. When there is excessive flatus and intestinal borborygmi, it is advisable to eat less sucrose and easily gassy fermentable foods, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, white radish, pumpkin, milk, soybeans, etc.

　　For mild cases, antibiotic drugs may not be necessary, but if the condition is not very mild, antibiotic treatment can be adopted to self-heal by adjusting the normal intestinal flora. For severe infants and those with sepsis, antibiotic treatment is still required. According to clinical observations, oral polymyxin B and polymyxin E are effective, but the drug source is difficult. In clinical practice, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin (sparfloxacin) or berberine are often preferred, in addition to metronidazole (TMP). Gentamicin or tobramycin can also be taken orally or injected intramuscularly. The course of treatment is 5 days. At the same time, routine care is also required during antibiotic treatment, such as keeping the perianal skin clean and dry, preventing perianal erythema and abscess. The perianal area can be dried with infrared radiation, and talcum powder, tannic acid ointment, etc. can be applied to the perianal area. Finally, some related western medicine treatment drugs that can be purchased at ordinary pharmacies are mentioned, such as atropine, pepsin, pancreatin, tannic acid protein, Pancreatic Powder, human serum albumin, polymyxin, polymyxin B, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, berberine, oxygen, metronidazole, gentamicin, tobramycin, tannic acid ointment.