Via Yle Uutiset: Friday's papers: Last-minute preparations in Sochi, neo-pagan religion becomes official and an E.coli outbreak in Oulu. Oulu is a city of 192,000 at the 65th parallel with a thriving high-tech industry and a couple of big universities. Excerpt:
Kaleva reports that even more children have fallen ill with an E. coli infection in the Oulu region. Most of the seriously affected children are being treated in the Oulu University Hospital. Eight different cases of the food-borne disease Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) were reported after December 13, all in children between the ages of 4 and 10.
“Five of them have symptoms of the life-threatening haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS)”, says Epidemiologist Ruska Rimhanen-Finne of the National Institute for Health and Welfare.
In addition, two children have become ill with HUS with no clinical confirmation of an E. coli infection. Doctor of paediatric infections at the Oulu University Hospital Terhi Tapiainen says they still don’t know what caused the epidemic, but warns children to avoid raw ground beef and unpasteurised milk.
“Some restaurants offer their customers hamburgers that are cooked medium. Hamburger patties should always be cooked all the way through to avoid bacterial infection,” she says.
