This contamination is alleged to be from human influence of a septic collection system at a nearby mobile home park.
One grandmother said her grandchildren play in the stream, to which Dr. Richard Urban, head of the TDEC district office in Chattanooga, said was not a gooid idea. “It (Wilkinson Branch) is not a good habitat,” he said, going so far to indicate TDEC would entertain a request to post the stream as a hazardous waterway.
These concerns, and the confirmation of E. coli and pathogens in Wilkinson Branch, raise some severe questions about the contamination and the presence of E. coli.
We do not want to alarm residents any more than they are already concerned, and it is important to realize that not all E. coli bacteria are harmful to humans.
The term E. coli applies to a number of bacteria strains present in animal and human digestive systems. Most E. coli bacteria serve a purpose as digestive aids; they are part of the helpful gut flora responsible for breaking down certain foods into more digestible sugars or proteins.
But, one particular strain of E. coli, called E. coli O157:H7, is the form of bacteria responsible for the most serious complications associated with contaminated foods and other sources such as a contaminated water supply.
Why is E. coli, especially E. coli O157:H7, so dangerous? For one thing, the first symptoms of true E. coli contamination mimic a number of other conditions considered to be temporary or treatable with standard antibiotics.
The sufferer may experience abdominal cramping, diarrhea and nausea. The loss of fluids may also cause dehydration and a general loss of energy.
These symptoms are evident with other illnesses. Many people have experienced these symptoms as the result of a 24-hour flu bug, mild food poisoning or general overeating.
Because of this, parents and other caregivers may not recognize the more serious symptoms of E. coli infection for several days.
Another reason E. coli is so dangerous is that it most severely impacts the young, elderly and immunity-compromised. Healthy adults can usually survive the worst of an E. coli infection, because other elements of their digestive tracts still function normally, and the body's natural defenses can eventually overwhelm the invading E. coli bacteria.
Young children have not yet developed these natural defenses, and the elderly or immunity-compromised may not have the healthy levels of gut flora and antibodies required to fend off the infection.
E. coli O157:H7 is particularly damaging to the kidneys and other organs responsible for removing toxins from the body.
In young children, E. coli bacteria can create a poisonous toxin that weakens the walls of the small intestine. In turn, the linings of some smaller blood vessels in the kidney can also become weakened. This is a serious complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). It is possible for HUS sufferers to experience complete kidney failure or other complications, such as paralysis, blindness and seizures.
E. coli 0157:H7 does not respond well to the traditional over-the-counter remedies for its symptoms. Anti-diarrheal medications can make the infection worse, since they prevent the body from naturally eliminating some toxins.
Antibiotics essentially kill off any bacteria they encounter, including the good intestinal bacteria strains assigned to fight off the E. coli invasion. Since there is no current treatment for severe E. coli infections, the sufferer must endure the unpleasant symptoms until the infection has run its course, generally within one to two weeks.
