title: A multistate outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections linked to alfalfa sprouts grown from contaminated seeds.
abstract: A multistate outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections occurred in the United States in June and July 1997. Two concurrent outbreaks were investigated through independent case-control studies in Michigan and Virginia and by subtyping isolates with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Isolates from 85 persons were indistinguishable by PFGE. Alfalfa sprouts were the only exposure associated with E. coli O157:H7 infection in both Michigan and Virginia. Seeds used for sprouting were traced back to one common lot harvested in Idaho. New subtyping tools such as PFGE used in this investigation are essential to link isolated infections to a single outbreak.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control And Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. breuert@rki.de
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Breuer
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Benkel
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Shapiro
authors.forename: W N
authors.initials: WN
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Winnett
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Linn
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Neimann
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Barrett
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dietrich
authors.forename: F P
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Downes
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Toney
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rolka
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Slutsker
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Griffin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field / Q000379:methods; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D000455:Medicago sativa / Q000382:microbiology*; D008824:Michigan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012639:Seeds; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014768:Virginia / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial