ad info

 
CNN.comTranscripts
 
Editions | myCNN | Video | Audio | Headline News Brief | Feedback  

 

  Search
 
 

 

TOP STORIES

Bush signs order opening 'faith-based' charity office for business

Rescues continue 4 days after devastating India earthquake

DaimlerChrysler employees join rapidly swelling ranks of laid-off U.S. workers

Disney's GO.com is a goner

(MORE)

MARKETS
4:30pm ET, 4/16
144.70
8257.60
3.71
1394.72
10.90
879.91
 


WORLD

U.S.

POLITICS

LAW

TECHNOLOGY

ENTERTAINMENT

 
TRAVEL

ARTS & STYLE



(MORE HEADLINES)
 
CNN Websites
Networks image


Saturday Morning News

What is E. Coli and How Does it Spread?

Aired May 27, 2000 - 8:16 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The E. coli outbreak in Walkerton, Ontario has many outside that community concerned about their risk of infection. What exactly is this deadly bacteria and how does it spread? Dr. John Balbus is the director of the Center for Risk Science and Health at George Washington University. He joins us this morning to help us understand more about this dangerous infection.

Dr. Balbus, thanks for being with us.

DR. JOHN BALBUS, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Good morning, Miles. Thanks for having me.

O'BRIEN: I guess a lot of people would be a bit surprised that you could contract E. coli from a water supply. That is something that is a fairly remote possibility, isn't it?

BALBUS: That's exactly right. E. coli does exist in our surface waters and lakes and streams, but for it to actually get into people's tap water or drinking water is very, very rare and it really only happens if chlorination systems break down.

O'BRIEN: And that, obviously, is a rare occurrence. So for folks at home who might have some concern about turning on their tap this morning, we probably should allay those concerns?

BALBUS: I think that's reasonable. I don't think that people in general in places that have large water utilities need to be concerned about their tap water.

O'BRIEN: All right, more to the point, this is the traditional start of the summer holiday, grilling season. A lot of burgers will be put on grills this weekend in the United States. What can people do, what should people be doing to guard against the spread of this infection and bacteria?

BALBUS: Well, Myles, you're bringing up the point that the main source of this bad bacteria, the E. coli 0157H7 is ground beef. It's ground beef that has been implicated in most of the outbreaks that have occurred in the last 15 years or so. And the greatest risk comes from under cooked ground beef. So the recommendation would be to make sure if you're having hamburgers to get them well cooked. Now, they recommend putting a meat thermometer in and making sure the temperature of the inside of the meat is 150 degrees. If you don't have a meat thermometer, I guess you just want to make sure that it doesn't look rare in the middle and it doesn't look bloody in the middle.

O'BRIEN: So the days of the rare hamburger are gone, is that what you're telling us? I grew up on them, for gosh sakes.

BALBUS: For those who want to avoid the risk of the E. coli, that's probably right.

O'BRIEN: All right, now, the concern, of course, in all this, especially for parents, is that this can be particularly devastating for children. What should a parent do and what warning signs should a parent be looking for because it can sneak up on you, can't it?

BALBUS: It can sneak up on you. The disease itself starts off like any other kind of diahrreal disease. It usually starts off with cramps and just regular diarrhea. The first warning sign is if blood starts appearing in the diarrhea, either just a little bit of blood or a lot of blood. Either way, that would be a warning sign that a parent should bring a child in to see the doctor and be checked specifically for this E. coli.

O'BRIEN: And it's important to act quickly, isn't it?

BALBUS: It is important to act quickly to make sure that the child is in a medical setting should it turn out to be the bad E. coli 0157H7 and should it turn out that they're starting to have this severe disease called hemolytic uremic syndrome, yes.

O'BRIEN: All right. Words of warning and perhaps best to err on the side of caution this holiday weekend. Dr. John Balbus with George Washington University, thanks for being with us on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

BALBUS: Thanks again for having me.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com

 Search   


Back to the top  © 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.