Shiga toxin is a dangerous bacterial toxin that attacks blood vessels, often caused by consuming contaminated food and water. Symptoms include gastrointestinal issues, kidney damage, and hemorrhagic colitis. Treatment includes supportive care, antibiotics, and hospitalization. Food safety precautions can reduce the risk of infection.
Shiga toxin is an extremely dangerous bacterial toxin that attacks the lining of blood vessels. People are most commonly exposed to this toxin due to infection with foodborne bacterial illnesses. Treatment for people with this toxin in their body is based on providing supportive care to help the body recover while also eliminating the bacteria so they can’t continue producing the toxin. This usually requires hospitalization for the patient.
Escherichia coli and Shigella dysenteriae are two common sources of shiga toxin. This toxin is a protein produced by bacteria as part of natural metabolic processes. Since people usually become infected with the bacteria as a result of consuming contaminated food and water, the first signs of exposure to shiga toxin are often gastrointestinal in nature. Humans and some other animals have receptors on the lining of their blood vessels that make them vulnerable to this toxin, while other animals are immune because there are no receptors for the toxin to attach to.
Bloody stools, vomiting, and extreme abdominal pain may occur in some patients, along with blood in the urine. Patients may develop dysentery, hemolytic urine syndrome, and hemorrhagic colitis. They lose fluid rapidly, and this contributes to the development of complications such as impaired kidney function and blood pressure changes. Sometimes the shiga toxin enters the lungs and damages their lining, and patients eventually develop shock, fall into a coma, and die without treatment.
In patients experiencing diarrhea and vomiting, one of the first-line treatments is supplemental fluids to keep the patient hydrated. This can help deal with the shiga toxin in the body. More specific treatments may include antibiotics to kill bacteria and monitoring your kidney health for early signs of kidney damage. Patients infected with these bacteria usually need to be hospitalized for severe symptoms.
Harmful bacteria can be found in a variety of foods. If people come to the hospital with signs of a serious foodborne illness, doctors will want as much information as possible about what patients ate, where and when. If there are multiple cases of food poisoning, this information can be helpful in identifying the start of an outbreak and quickly recalling contaminated food products, before the outbreak has a chance to spread. People can reduce their risks of developing foodborne illness by washing their hands thoroughly before preparing food, following common-sense food safety precautions, and paying attention to food recalls so they can discard contaminated foods.
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