Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 associated with human infections in Switzerland, 2000-2009.
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), an important foodborne pathogen, can cause mild to severe bloody diarrhoea (BD), sometimes followed by life-threatening complications such as haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS). A total of 44 O157 strains isolated from different patients from 2000 through 2009 in Switzerland were further characterized and linked to medical history data. Non-bloody diarrhoea was experienced by 15.9%, BD by 61.4% of the patients, and 29.5% developed HUS. All strains belonged to MLST type 11, were positive for stx2 variants (stx2 and/or stx2c), eae and ehxA, and only two strains showed antibiotic resistance. Of the 44 strains, nine phage types (PTs) were detected the most frequent being PT32 (43.2%) and PT8 (18.2%). By PFGE, 39 different patterns were found. This high genetic diversity within the strains leads to the conclusion that STEC O157 infections in Switzerland most often occur as sporadic cases.
Käppeli
U
U
Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Hächler
H
H
Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Giezendanner
N
N
Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Cheasty
T
T
Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Pathogens, GEZI (HPA Centre for Infections), London, UK.
Stephan
R
R
Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
D000293:Adolescent; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D012703:Serotyping; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents