Abstract
Similarity of Shiga Toxin–producing<i>Escherichia coli</i>O104:H4 Strains from Italy and Germany
Highlights
To the Editor: Since the beginning of May 2011, a large outbreak of infections associated with Shiga toxin (Stx)–producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O104:H4 has occurred in Germany [1]
Instead of the attaching–effacing mechanism of adhesion to intestinal mucosa that is typical of STEC associated with severe human disease [5], the STEC O104 epidemic strain had genetic markers and an adhesion pattern [6] typical of enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC), another group of diarrheagenic strains found frequently in developing countries [5]
On basis of these findings, we reviewed our culture collection and found that an STEC strain (ED-703) from a case-patient with HUS in 2009 in Italy had the same combination of virulence factors as the strain from Germany: Stx2 production and enteroaggregative adhesion genetic markers
Summary
To the Editor: Since the beginning of May 2011, a large outbreak of infections associated with Shiga toxin (Stx)–producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O104:H4 has occurred in Germany [1]. Instead of the attaching–effacing mechanism of adhesion to intestinal mucosa that is typical of STEC associated with severe human disease [5], the STEC O104 epidemic strain had genetic markers and an adhesion pattern [6] typical of enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC), another group of diarrheagenic strains found frequently in developing countries [5]. On basis of these findings, we reviewed our culture collection and found that an STEC strain (ED-703) from a case-patient with HUS in 2009 in Italy had the same combination of virulence factors as the strain from Germany: Stx2 production and enteroaggregative adhesion genetic markers.
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