Minnesota Siblings Contract E. coli Bacteria from Petting Zoo

Two children contracted E. coli from a petting zoo and went into kidney failure

A family from Minnesota would have never thought a visit to the petting zoo can turn into something so tragic. Two siblings contracted E. coli, which caused them to suffer acute kidney failure. The younger child, a three-year-old girl, died, and her five-year-old brother is still fighting for his life.

Petting zoo turns deadly for Minnesota children

At the beginning of June, Joe and Tyffani Maresh took their two children, Kade and Kallan, to the petting zoo. What they never thought of was the fact that they could contract an E. coli infection, which caused to go in acute kidney failure.

Afterwards, this led to the development of hemolytic uremic syndrome. This condition proved too severe for the children, and Kallan, the little girl, could no longer cope with it. She died last week in the hospital, and her brother Kade is still struggling to survive.

Doctors couldn’t properly identify the cause of the infection, but they have a few theories. They think the children could have contracted it while visiting a petting zoo in their home state. The petting zoo has been notified of this case, and all animals the children touched or played with have been taken away from visitors, to avoid further infection.

Toxins from the bacteria put the children’s organs at risk

The toxins the children they contracted were much too powerful, so they attacked the little girl’s brain and kidneys. This is an extremely severe condition, and the organism of the child couldn’t take it. Kallan would have turned 4 the next month.

Kade, the boy, is still fighting. He is currently undergoing kidney dialysis, and has undergone several blood transfusions. Now, his parents hope the toxins would not reach his brain or other organs in his body.

This would be the first case when people contract E. coli bacteria from a petting zoo. That’s why the investigation is still in progress, as there are many other places where the children could have taken the infection from.
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