A family outbreak of hemolytic-uremic syndrome associated with verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7.
All five siblings (three boys and two girls, aged 1.5-9 years) in a family developed hemolytic-uremic syndrome associated with verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 at a lakeside vacation cottage during the fall of 1985. All five were hospitalized and made a full recovery. Both parents remained asymptomatic, and neither had evidence of this infection. In four children who were investigated prospectively, free verotoxin was still detectable in the stools for between 3 and 7 weeks. The prodromal diarrheal illness in the children occurred over a 10-day period. The epidemic curve was consistent with a point-source outbreak, but continuous exposure or person-to-person transmission could not be ruled out. The source of the infection was not identified.
Karmali
M A
MA
Department of Bacteriology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Arbus
G S
GS
Ish-Shalom
N
N
Fleming
P C
PC
Malkin
D
D
Petric
M
M
Cheung
R
R
Louie
S
S
Humphreys
G R
GR
Strachan
M
M
D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006463:Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009864:Ontario / Q000453:epidemiology; D012703:Serotyping; D022622:Shiga Toxin 1
D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D022622:Shiga Toxin 1