The largest outbreak to date of non-O157:H7 STEC infections occurred in the summ

Question

The largest outbreak to date of non-O157:H7 STEC infections occurred in the summer of 2011 in Germany. It was due to a rarely encountered STEC strain, E. coli O104:H4. There were -3, 800 reported cases and 54 deaths. The transmission vehicle was sprouts used in salads and as garnishes. Interestingly, the largest E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, which occurred in Japan in 1996 and caused almost 2, 800 culture-confirmed cases, was also associated with the consumption of sprouts. One of the unusual findings in the German out-breaks, was the high rate of HUS (22% of O104:H4-infected individuals). In other large outbreaks, the HUS rate is usually 5 to 10%. Further, 88% of the cases were seen in adults, with a predominance (68%) in women. This predominance was attributed to their preference for consuming sprouts. In the Japanese outbreak, all HUS cases were in children. HUS secondary to STEC is generally believed to be a disease primarily of children, making the HUS case distribution in female adults highly unusual. Like E. coli O157:H7 associated with HUS, this strain carried the stx2 gene, the specific toxin variant being Stx2a. It is worth noting that outbreaks of Sahnonella have also been linked to with consumption of sprouts.

Explanation / Answer

The largest outbreak of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) occurred in northern Germany, in may-June 2011. A large number of adults were affected. The causative Escherichia coli strain (serotype O104:H4), was observed to have an atypical virulence factor pattern.

The Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a serotype of E. coli and is responsible of producing the Shiga toxin– types of E. coli. It causes a foodborne illness of the "colonic escherichiosis" type, which is spread through consumption of contaminated and raw food, including raw milk. Transmission of the disease is via fecal–oral route and the illness spreads via distribution of contaminated raw leaf green vegetables, such as sprouts .

Note - I have just given an initial overview of the two diseases, as no question was specified for the same . Do come back with any more information required.

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