Abstract
In 2011, Germany experienced one of the largest outbreaks of entero-hemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) ever reported. Four years thereafter, we systematically searched for scientific publications in PubMed and MEDPILOT relating to this outbreak in order to assess the pattern of respective research activities and to assess the main findings and recommendations in the field of public health. Following PRISMA guidelines, we selected 133 publications, half of which were published within 17 months after outbreak onset. Clinical medicine was covered by 71, microbiology by 60, epidemiology by 46, outbreak reporting by 11, and food safety by 9 papers. Those on the last three topics drew conclusions on methods in surveillance, diagnosis, and outbreak investigation, on resources in public health, as well as on inter-agency collaboration, and public communication. Although the outbreak primarily affected Germany, most publications were conducted by multinational cooperations. Our findings document how soon and in which fields research was conducted with respect to this outbreak.
Highlights
In spring 2011, Germany experienced one of the largest outbreaks of entero-hemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) ever reported, almost 3,000 people fell ill with acute gastroenteritis, 855 of them developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS)
Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines [6], we searched for literature in PubMed and MEDPILOT using the search terms “EHEC” OR “O104:H4” OR “HUS” and their related Medical Subject heading (MESH) “Shigatoxigenic Escherichia coli” OR
For all publications that belonged to the Public Health topics Epidemiology, Food Safety, and Outbreak
Summary
In spring 2011, Germany experienced one of the largest outbreaks of entero-hemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) ever reported, almost 3,000 people fell ill with acute gastroenteritis, 855 of them developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). From May 20 to July 8, 2011, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German federal public health institute, together with local and state health and food safety agencies, conducted a total of 13 epidemiological field investigations, using different study designs. The aim of the study was to trace the scientific process in order to assess to which extent the different disciplines were involved, to identify the collaborations established, and to find out which public health-related topics were researched. The results of this work can help public health authorities to better understand how the scientific community works under the conditions of a disease outbreak. With this knowledge, coordination and collaboration between public health authorities and scientists can be facilitated. This paper encourages scientists from different disciplines to take a broader view during outbreak investigations, and to contemplate the challenges and potentials of interdisciplinary collaboration
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