An outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O121 infections associated with flour-Canada, 2016-2017†

V Morton; J M Cheng; D Sharma; A Kearney

doi:10.14745/ccdr.v43i78a03

An outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O121 infections associated with flour-Canada, 2016-2017^†

Can Commun Dis Rep. 2017 Jul 6;43(7-8):154-155. doi: 10.14745/ccdr.v43i78a03.

Authors

V Morton¹, J M Cheng¹, D Sharma², A Kearney³

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Foodborne, Environmental, and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON.
² Office of Food Safety and Recall, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, ON.
³ National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB.

Abstract

As of May 23, 2017, 29 cases of a new Escherichia coli O121 infection have been identified in six provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan) linked with the consumption of uncooked flour. One additional case was identified in a U.S. resident who traveled to Canada during the exposure period. Patients' ages ranged from 2-79 years (median = 23.5 years) and 50% were female. Eight patients were hospitalized, and one developed hemolytic uremic syndrome. Because of the recent emergence of E. coli outbreaks linked to flour, public health professionals should consider flour as a possible source in E. coli outbreaks and communicate the risk associated with flour and raw batter/dough exposure in public health messaging.