E. coli victim was Gastonia police officer’s son

Posted: Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012

Gage Lefevers

More Information

Preventing E. coli

Good hygiene, especially frequent and thorough hand washing, is important to prevent spread of the disease, particularly after using the restroom, after changing diapers, after touching animals and before eating, drinking or preparing food.

Any child with diarrhea or bloody diarrhea may have an E. coli infection. Since E. coli bacteria can be easily transmitted, parents should not send sick children to day care or to school. Day care centers and schools should send sick children home to avoid person-to-person spread, especially among diapered children.

Symptoms also can include accompanying abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting. Low-grade fever may be present. Some people sickened by E. coli can develop severe complications, including kidney failure or hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Young children, the elderly and people with other medical conditions are particularly at risk. Untreated, HUS can prove fatal, so it is essential that people with E. coli receive prompt medical treatment.

Clues that a person is developing HUS include decreased frequency of urination and anemia, which may result in fatigue and losing pink color in cheeks and inside the lower eyelids. People with HUS should be hospitalized, because their kidneys may stop working and they may develop other serious problems.

Source: N.C. Department of Health and Human Services

The 2-year-old boy who died Friday from complications of the E. coli illness that has sickened at least 38 people was the son of a Gastonia police officer, and members of the department are rallying around the family.

Gage Lefevers was sickened after his family attended the Cleveland County Fair, and he was among a number of victimswho developed serious complications from the illness.

Gastonia police said Tuesday that Gage’s father, Josh, had been hired by the department Aug. 6, has been in a training program, and has not been assigned to a district.

“This is a terrible tragedy and an unfathomable loss for the Lefevers family,” Gastonia police said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to them.”

Police remind the public that a fund has been set up to help pay the family’s medical costs. Donations can be made to the Gage Lefevers Memorial Fund and left at any Wells Fargo Bank branch.

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