Outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli in Germany

On 22 May, Germany reported a significant increase in the number of patients with haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and bloody diarrhoea caused by Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). Since 2 May 2011, 661 cases of HUS and 1672 non-HUS STEC cases have been reported from European Union Member States, including 630 HUS cases and 1601 non-HUS STEC cases in Germany. Sixteen of the HUS cases and six non-HUS STEC cases in EU Member states have died. See table below. While HUS, caused by STEC infections, is usually observed in children under 5 years of age, in this outbreak the great majority of cases are adults, with more than two thirds being women. Laboratory results indicate that STEC serogroup O104:H4 (Stx2-positve, eae-negative, hly-negative, ESBL, aat, aggR, aap) is the causative agent. PFGE results shows indistinguishable pattern of 7 human O104:H4 outbreak strains in Germany...