E.coli case may be traced back to Rush County Fair

RUSH COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) - At least two children from Rush County are critically ill after getting E. coli poisoning. Their condition is so bad that their kidneys are severely impaired. One of the kids may have contracted the disease at the Rush County Fair.

Kathleen Ragan, 4, is at the Peyton Manning Children's Hospital suffering from Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome. One in 10 people with E. coli poisoning can develop HUS, which causes severe kidney damage.

"With the HUS, her kidneys have still not started functioning correctly," says Kathleen's mother, Angel Campbell-Ragan. "She's still on the dialysis."

Kathleen’s prognosis ranges from complete recovery to lifelong dialysis. It's possible she contracted E. coli bacteria from animals at the Rush County Fair in late June.

Kathleen's mother says she did use hand sanitizer as she petted animals there, but her symptoms of fatigue, diarrhea and bloody stools started the day after the fair ended.

The parent of at least one other Rush County child said that her boy is also very ill and was also at the Rush County Fair, however the boy has tested negative for HUS. The boy's mother says he's currently on dialysis at Riley Hospital and is scheduled for a blood transfusion Wednesday.

The State Board of Health says a few cases don't mean an outbreak but E. coli cases do rise in the summer.

"You can end up with it in a variety of ways," reports Tom Duszynski, an epidemiologist with the Indiana Department of Health. "We've all heard the stories of undercooked meat, like hamburgers. We certainly recommend cooking thoroughly, unpasteurized juices, raw milk…contact with animals without washing your hands before you eat."

Campbell-Ragan said, "My daughter, she chews on her fingers and that's the main way they get it because it gets underneath their fingernails. I'm on my daughter right now to keep her fingers out of her mouth as she's up there in her hospital bed.”

Dusynski said there's an easy way for parents to teach children how long to wash their hands.

"Singing the ABC song while you're washing your hands is about the appropriate time that folks should spend under with some soap and water," he says.

• Visit a Facebook page arranged in support of Kathleen.