Do you know anything about the E-coli virus?

My mother-in-law just found out that her mom has the e-coli virus, she was given antibiotics but hospice stopped giving the anitibiotics because she said it wasn't helping her. Her mother has been in the nursing home for 3 years now and...it is an awful picture...
My mother -in-law wants to know, how long someone can live with e-coli..

Sorry about the mix up on virus & bacteria. The patient has dementia really bad and her bowels are busted open and her kidneys are shuting down. I do not know why they stopped the anitibiotics either.

E. coli isn't a virus, but instead is a type of bacteria that lives in our intestines. Typically it does not cause a problem unless ingested orally. Undercooked meat, unwashed vegetables and food that has been in contact with undercooked meat can be infected with E. coli. Someone that is typically infected with E. coli will experience a stomach ache,vomiting, and diarrhea for anywhere from 5 to 10 days with some particularly bad cases prolonging to two weeks. They should have a full recovery after this time. Antibiotic resistance is something many doctors try to avoid, so in many cases they do not prescribe any antibiotics and instead advice the patient to wait it out. In extreme cases, E. coli infections could lead to kidney failure. If the infection is this extreme, antibiotics are prescribed before the infection escalates to this level. However, some cases become this bad even with antibiotics. Some people, especially children under 5 and the elderly, can become very sick from E. coli. The infection damages their red blood cells and their kidneys. This only happens to about 1 out of 50 people, but it is very serious. Without hospital care, they can die .It all depends on how your immune system responds to the bacteria, and how strong your immune system is. A small percentage of people are seriously ill from E. Coli, and most recover fully without antibiotics. If you feel that your grandmother in law is at risk, please talk to the hospice. They are supposed to make their patients as comfortable as possible.

it's bad

E-coli is not virus, it's bacteria. And it's a common bacteria in human bowel.
As far as i know, rifaximin should help. I don't know why they stop giving antibiotics. I suggest you find another doctor / hospital. They should check her "antibiotic's resistancy and stool culture" and give her another antibiotics.

I don't know how long someone can live with it, but as long as there's no complication (dehidration, hemolytic uremic syndrome, etc) they'll be fine.

Hope she'll going well soon. Bless you.

There are many types of E.coli bacteria, since you didn鈥檛 say enough information. I鈥檓 going to give you an educated guess that she has a urinary tract infection which is treatable by antibiotics. Ask the doctors why did they stop the antibiotics? 鈥渘ot helping her鈥?is not an answer!

Most properly they stopped the antibiotics because of her kidneys.