On Tuesday 20th September, sixty one years ago, the term Haemolytic Uremic Syndrome first appeared in public; and it is worth remembering that the person who coined the term, Conrad von Gasser, saw HUS as syndromes not one disease.
This summer another e coli outbreak occurred in Scotland and another child died from HUS as a result.
The aHUSUK website has previously featured the story of Lucy Cox and her son Bo, whose lives were devastated by a previous e coli incident when Bo suffered with HUS .
It is now three years since that incident and Bo continues to live with its consequences, as can be seen in an article in The Sunday Post which links the two e. coli stories( it can be read by clicking here )
There is an overlap between the two versions of HUS, the damage that it causes and for those predisposed to aHUS it can be a trigger , doubly unfortunate given the rarity of e.coli positioning as well as rare genetic susceptibility.
The article in The Sunday Post suggests that the Scottish outbreak is a manifestation of a much wider UK e coli situation at the moment so those who know about their predisposition to HUS should be wary.
The next three months is likely to see a spike in aHUS incidents ( around 50% UK Global aHUS Survey respondents reported aHUS on-setting during October to December period) in the normal course of events as the immune system naturally gets itself ready for the likelihood of more infections during Winter.
That is a good thing normally but for those whose complement system may not have controls it may lead to an aHUS onset.