Look around the streets of Buenos Aires City and you’ll notice a new food trend: an explosion of restaurants offering all kinds of hamburgers, from smash burgers and sliders, to gourmet blends and even an infamous raw burger.

While many Argentines are embracing this newfound love of ground beef, for parents of young children the fad is a bit of a nightmare. And not only because they’re worried about junk food and obesity.

The main reason for concern is that hamburger meat is considered the main culprit of a potentially life-threatening disease called haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) that is particularly dangerous for children under five.

The disease is caused by bacteria found in cattle and is carried in contaminated food, especially undercooked ground beef.

This bacteria, called Escherichia coli, is commonly found in the intestinal tract of cattle and produces a toxin, called Shiga, which causes diarrhea, often bloody, abdominal pain and fever, and can lead to irreversible damage to the kidneys. 

Argentina has the highest incidence of HUS in the world, with around 300 children developing the disease each year, according to biologist Vanesa Zylberman, research and development manager and technical director at Argentine biotechnology company Inmunova.

“There is no specific treatment for HUS today,” Zylberman tells the Herald. “All that can be done is supportive care.”

The unusually high incidence of HUS in Argentina is one of the reasons Inmunova decided to focus on what could become the world’s first specific treatment for the disease.

Its investigational drug, INM004, is now in Phase 3 clinical trials, the final stage of testing before the company can seek regulatory approval.

The international trial involves 220 children between nine months and 18 years old and is being conducted at more than 40 health centers in Argentina and Europe.

Why is HUS so prevalent in Argentina?

Contamination with Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (or STEC) can occur not only through meat, but also through other food or water contaminated with fecal matter, including vegetables and fruit.

However, minced beef is particularly problematic because bacteria that is on the surface of a cut of meat can become mixed throughout it when the meat is ground.

“That’s why in many parts of the world it is known as hamburger disease,” Zylberman explains.

Argentina’s high incidence cannot be attributed to a single cause, she says. It is the result of multiple factors, including eating habits, the........

© Buenos Aires Herald