The first case of infection by the bacterium E. coli at the 2024 Paris Olympics the Belgian triathlete impressed Claire Micheladmitted to hospital on August 4. Belgium will therefore not be able to participate in the mixed team triathlon. The athlete probably contracted the infection while swimming in the waters of the Seine River during the individual triathlon held on Wednesday, July 31. The suitability of the Seine for swimming is one of the most discussed aspects of the 2024 Olympic Games and depends largely on the concentrations of E. coli (the abbreviation to indicate E. coli), which flows into the river following heavy rains that cause wastewater to overflow the sewer systems. E. coli It is in fact a bacterium found in the intestinal tract of many mammals including humans: if ingested in sufficiently high concentrations it can cause gastrointestinal problems and symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting and even urinary tract infections if it ends up in the bladder. This bacterium can also contaminate marine waters, making it unsuitable for swimming.
Things E. coli?
L’Escherichia coli it’s a bacterium Gram-negative that usually inhabits the inside of theintestineproliferating especially in its last tract, the colon. It is a enterobacterium which is part of the natural intestinal flora of mammals and some birds and which plays an important role in digestion. This species aggregates in colonie which, as we can see in the image below, are formed by many individual rod-shaped bacteria 1-2 micrometers long. There are many of them stumps – mostly harmless – but, although it is a “friendly” organism for our flora, in some cases it can transform into a occasional pathogencausing pathologies that can also be considered serious.
Pathologies related to E. coli: symptoms
E. coli may cause gastrointestinal diseases And infections when ingested (because it is present in contaminated water, milk or food) or transmitted through the bite of some insects. One of the most common cases of infection is linked to direct oral-fecal contact from person to person typically associated with a improper hygiene of hands and surfaces.
This bacterium tends to invade the intestinal lining and attach itself to its internal wall, generating, among the most common effects, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomit And infections of the urinary tract while, in very serious cases, kidney failure And death. The most serious cases, however, have to do with the entry of this bacterium into the bloodstream following internal intestinal trauma.
This is why this bacterium, together with other microorganisms potentially dangerous to health, is monitored measuring its concentrations in inland and coastal waters.
