http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/ecoli.html

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What Is //E. Coli//?
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Foods to Watch
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What Will the Doctorat Can Kids Do? What Is E. Coli?
E. coli is a common type of bacteria that can get into food, like beef and vegetables. E. coli is short for the medical term Escherichia coli. E. coli can be extremely harmful to one’s health. However, it is necessary to have inside your body but it shouldn’t come from an outside source. E. coli normally lives inside your intestines, where it helps your body break down and digest the food you eat. Unfortunately, certain types (called strains) of E. coli can get from the intestines into the blood. This is a rare illness, but it can cause a very serious infection.
Someone who has E. coli infection may have these symptoms:

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bad stomach cramps and belly pain
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vomiting

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diarrhea, sometimes with blood in it
One very bad strain of E. coli was found in fresh spinach in 2006 and some fast-food hamburgers in 1993. Beef can contain E. coli because the bacteria often infect cattle. It can be in meat that comes from cattle and it's also in their manure. If the manure is used for fertilizer (a common practice to help crops grow) or if water contaminated with E. coli is used to irrigate the crops, one can eat it and become sick.ContinueFoods to Watch
E. coli can be passed from person to person, but serious E. coli infection is more often linked to food containing the bacteria. The person eats the contaminated food and gets sick.

Here are some foods that can cause E. coli poisoning:
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undercooked ground beef (used for hamburgers)
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vegetables grown in cow manure or washed in contaminated water
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fruit juice that isn't pasteurized (pasteurization is a process that uses heat to kill germs)

Heat can kill E. coli, so experts recommend that people cook beef (especially ground beef) until it is cooked through and no longer pink. Choosing pasteurized juice is another way to avoid possible infection.
Lastly, some experts recommend washing and scrubbing vegetables before eating them. But others say E. coli is hard to remove once it has contaminated produce, such as spinach, lettuce, or onions. The solution, they say, is to take more steps so that E. coli doesn't come in contact with crops.

What Will the Doctor Do?
If someone has symptoms of E. coli poisoning, the doctor will run some blood tests and take a sample of the person's stool (poop). The blood and stool can be checked to see if a harmful strain of E. coli is present. Even though diarrhea is one of the main symptoms, the person shouldn't take anti-diarrhea medicines because they can slow down recovery time.
Some people recover at home, while others need to be in the hospital. In some cases, E. coli poisoning can cause life-th
Foods to Watch
E. coli can be passed from person to person, but serious E. coli infection is more often linked to food containing the bacteria. One eats the contaminated food and gets sick.
Here are some foods that can cause E. coli poisoning:
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undercooked ground beef (used for hamburgers)
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vegetables grown in cow manure or washed in contaminated water
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fruit juice that isn't pasteurized (pasteurization is a process that uses heat to kill germs).(Pasteurization isn’t always good for you because it kills the good vitamins as well as the bacteria).

Heat can kill E. coli, so experts recommend that people cook beef (especially ground beef) until it is cooked through and no longer pink. Choosing pasteurized juice is another way to avoid possible infection.
Lastly, some experts recommend washing and scrubbing vegetables before eating them. But others say E. coli is hard to remove once it has contaminated produce, such as spinach, lettuce, or onions.

What Will the Doctor Do?
If someone has symptoms of E. coli poisoning, the doctor will run some blood tests and take a sample of the person's stool (poop). The blood and stool can be checked to see if a harmful strain of E. coli is present. Even though diarrhea is one of the main symptoms, the person shouldn't take anti-diarrhea medicines because they can slow down recovery time.
Some people recover at home, while others will need to be in the hospital. In some cases, E. coli poisoning can cause life-threatening kidney problems.






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