E. coli is short for Escherichia coli—bacteria (germs) that are found on food and in the environment. E. coli cause severe cramps and diarrhea. These bacteria are a leading cause of bloody diarrhea. The symptoms are worse in children and older people, and especially in people who have another illness. E. coli infection is more common during the summer months and in northern states.
Symptoms can start from 1 to 10 days after you’re exposed to the germ. The first symptoms are severe abdominal cramps that start suddenly. After a few hours, watery diarrhea starts. The diarrhea causes your body to lose fluids and electrolytes (dehydration). This makes you feel sick and tired. The watery diarrhea lasts for about a day and then may change to bright red bloody stools.
The infection makes sores in your intestines, so the stools become bloody. The bloody diarrhea may last for 2 to 5 days. You might have 10 or more bowel movements a day. Some people say their stools are “all blood and no stool.” You may have a mild fever or no fever. You may also have nausea or vomiting. If you have any of these symptoms—watery, bloody diarrhea, cramps, fever, nausea, or vomiting—try to get to your doctor right away.
One uncommon but severe complication is called hemolytic uremic syndrome. People with this problem get hemolytic anemia (which is a low red blood cell count), thrombocytopenia (which is a low platelet count), and renal failure (which is kidney damage). Hemolytic uremic syndrome is more common in children. It can cause acute renal failure in children. This problem starts about 5 to 10 days after the diarrhea starts. People with this problem must go to a hospital for medical care.
Most E. coli infections come from:
- Eating undercooked ground beef (the inside is pink)
- Drinking contaminated (impure) water
- Drinking unpasteurized (raw) milk
- Working with cattle
- Eating food contaminated with animal feces (such as vegetables)
Healthy beef and dairy cattle may carry the E. coli germ in their intestines. The meat can get contaminated with the germ during the slaughtering process. When beef is ground up, the E. coli germs get mixed throughout the meat. That is why it is important to make sure ground meat is cooked all the way through. For beef steaks, a pink middle is still OK.
The most common way to get this infection is by eating contaminated food. You can be infected with the E. coli germ if you don’t use a high temperature to cook your beef, or if you don’t cook it long enough. When you eat undercooked ground beef, the germs go into your stomach and intestines.
The germ also can be passed from person to person in daycare centers and nursing homes. If you have this infection and don’t wash your hands well with soap after going to the bathroom, you can give the germ to other people when you touch things, especially food.
People who are infected with E. coli are very contagious. Children shouldn’t go to a daycare center until they have 2 negative stool cultures (proof that the infection is gone). Older people in nursing homes should stay in bed until 2 stool cultures are negative.
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