Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli serogroups in food and patients, Germany

Dirk Werber; Lothar Beutin; Rohtraud Pichner; Klaus Stark; Angelika Fruth

doi:10.3201/eid1411.080361

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli serogroups in food and patients, Germany

Emerg Infect Dis. 2008 Nov;14(11):1803-6. doi: 10.3201/eid1411.080361.

Authors

Dirk Werber¹, Lothar Beutin, Rohtraud Pichner, Klaus Stark, Angelika Fruth

Affiliation

¹ Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany. [email protected]

Abstract

We compared 61 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) serogroups from 448 food isolates with 71 STEC serogroups from 1,447 isolates from patients in Germany. Two thirds (41/61), representing 72% of food isolates, were also found in patients. Serogroups typically isolated from patients with hemolytic uremic syndrome were rarely found in food.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Cattle
Cheese / microbiology
Escherichia coli Infections / epidemiology
Escherichia coli Infections / microbiology*
Food Microbiology*
Germany / epidemiology
Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome / epidemiology
Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome / microbiology
Humans
Meat / microbiology
Milk / microbiology
Serotyping
Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli / classification*
Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli / genetics
Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli / isolation & purification
Swine