title: Toxin-producing bacteria in infants. Lack of an association with sudden infant death syndrome.
abstract: After finding enterotoxigenic (ET) Escherichia coli in two consecutive cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), we initiated a prospective search for ET E coli in SIDS in Manitoba; in addition, we looked for toxigenic Clostridium botulinum and C difficile. In a 21-month period, small- and large-bowel contents were obtained in 33 cases of SIDS, from 32 control subjects, and in ten suspected cases of SIDS. Neither C botulinum nor ET E coli was isolated from any of these; C difficile was cultured from postmortem bowel contents of two SIDS and seven control cases. The overall isolation rate of C difficile was 17%. Despite the fact that two of these cases had toxin detectable in the bowel contents, no evidence of colitis was found in any of the cases with C difficile. We conclude that C botulinum or ET E coli have only a small role, if any, in the etiology of SIDS, and that C difficile is found relatively commonly in the gastrointestinal tract of infants without apparent local or systemic effects.
mesh_terms: D000333:Aeromonas / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003013:Clostridium / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D013398:Sudden Infant Death / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D004768:Enterotoxins