Emerging foodborne pathogens: enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli.
In 1982, a new pathogen caused an outbreak of hemorrhagic colitis in this country. This new pathogen, Escherichia coli O157:H7, was not a known enteropathogen prior to this time. Since 1982, this organism has become the most commonly isolated pathogen from patients with bloody stools. Health officials estimate that E. coli O157:H7 causes 20,000 cases of hemorrhagic colitis annually in the U.S. Approximately 5% of all hemorrhagic colitis patients experience serious sequelae involving hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and kidney failure, and about 250 patients die each year with E. coli O157:H7 hemorrhagic colitis and sequelae. Even as many clinical laboratories become more efficient at detecting E. coli O157:H7 using simple media, other strains of enterohemorrhagic E. coli are appearing as causes of hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome. These non-O157:H7 are more difficult to detect and identify, and present a challenge to clinical microbiologists.
Nauschuetz
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Microbiology Services, Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, HI 96859, USA.
D003092:Colitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006463:Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D014481:United States