Results of screening for verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli in faeces in Belgium.
During an 18-month period all stools submitted to a microbiology laboratory in Belgium for culture were screened for Verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) serotype O157. In the stool samples from 3940 patients, eight (0.2%) VTEC O157 strains were isolated, seven of which were O157:H7. Additional screening for other serotypes of VTEC in 332 selected stool samples yielded four more strains (serotypes O2:K1:H6, O111:H-, O117:K1:H7 and O"C70/86":H-). The 0.3% isolation rate for all VTEC was comparable to that for Shigella spp. Eight children under 30 months and two adults suffered from uncomplicated gastroenteritis. A 5-month-old child and a 41-year-old woman presented with hemolytic uremic syndrome a few days after onset of a diarrheal episode.
Piérard
D
D
Department of Microbiology, Akademisch Ziekenhuis, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium.
Van Etterijck
R
R
Breynaert
J
J
Moriau
L
L
Lauwers
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D022622:Shiga Toxin 1
D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D022622:Shiga Toxin 1