The latest Public Health Surveillance Report covered work done by Taranaki medical student Claire Richardson, who studied the epidemiology of Verotoxin producing Escherichia Coli (VETEC) between 2006 and 2016.
The disease, little known outside medical circles, caused bloody diarrhoea and other debilitating conditions and Richardson’s work identified a link between calf and human infection.
The number of notified cases of the disease had been increasing in Taranaki since 2005 and 67 people had been reported with it over the study period.
The report noted most district health boards had recorded an increase in the disease, which has been reported only since 1993.
Health experts found almost 60% of the cases reported were children aged under four. They were 21 times more likely to be infected than older people.
Almost half those infected required hospital treatment and 15% developed the debilitating condition haemolytic uraemic syndrome, a condition causing kidney malfunction, heart attack, liver degeneration, brain dysfunction, coma and even death.
Five of the children who got the disease required the highest level of care at Starship Children’s Hospital.
The study identified the most likely risk factor for contracting VETEC was contact with animals, both pets and farm stock, and contact with manure.
Someone visiting a farm was twice as likely to become infected and 80% of those infected had been exposed to farm animals a week before infection showed.
The report’s authors noted with concern the incidence of VETEC was higher than leptospirosis infection, a disease with a higher profile in the farming community.
VETEC’s infection rate continues to increase but many in the farming community were unaware of the risks it posed for their pre-school children.
The Taranaki District Health Board intended to run a campaign before calving season next year, informing the rural community about the risks of VETEC to young children.
It would include working with general practitioners to improve early diagnosis and improve awareness among rural families.
The report also noted elevated levels of the disease in other major livestock farming districts including Waikato and Canterbury.
