Abstract
During a 9-month period in 1984, 113 fecal samples obtained from 92 patients with diarrheal illness were cultured for Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7 to determine the occurrence of this agent in diarrheal illness in Newfoundland. E. coli O157:H7 was isolated in almost pure culture from 12 stool specimens obtained from 7 (15%) of the 47 patients who had grossly bloody diarrhea; none of the 12 yielded any of the usual enteric pathogens. The agent was not isolated from the stool specimens obtained from the remaining 45 patients, who did not have bloody diarrhea. All seven patients whose specimens were positive for E. coli O157:H7 had clinical manifestations typical of hemorrhagic colitis, but the syndrome was clinically suspected and a specific test requested in only two cases. The seven cases were not clustered geographically or temporally, and no common exposure was identified. To determine whether hamburger meat was the source of E. coli O157:H7, 66 samples obtained from various retail outlets were tested; none were found to be positive. Hemorrhagic colitis may be a common disease, and E. coli O157:H7 should be considered as an agent in bloody diarrheal illness.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Beery J. T., Doyle M. P., Schoeni J. L. Colonization of chicken cecae by Escherichia coli associated with hemorrhagic colitis. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1985 Feb;49(2):310–315. doi: 10.1128/aem.49.2.310-315.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Day N. P., Scotland S. M., Cheasty T., Rowe B. Escherichia coli O157:H7 associated with human infections in the United Kingdom. Lancet. 1983 Apr 9;1(8328):825–825. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(83)91887-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Karmali M. A., Steele B. T., Petric M., Lim C. Sporadic cases of haemolytic-uraemic syndrome associated with faecal cytotoxin and cytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli in stools. Lancet. 1983 Mar 19;1(8325):619–620. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(83)91795-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Pai C. H., Gordon R., Sims H. V., Bryan L. E. Sporadic cases of hemorrhagic colitis associated with Escherichia coli O157:H7. Clinical, epidemiologic, and bacteriologic features. Ann Intern Med. 1984 Dec;101(6):738–742. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-101-6-738. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Riley L. W., Remis R. S., Helgerson S. D., McGee H. B., Wells J. G., Davis B. R., Hebert R. J., Olcott E. S., Johnson L. M., Hargrett N. T. Hemorrhagic colitis associated with a rare Escherichia coli serotype. N Engl J Med. 1983 Mar 24;308(12):681–685. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198303243081203. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wells J. G., Davis B. R., Wachsmuth I. K., Riley L. W., Remis R. S., Sokolow R., Morris G. K. Laboratory investigation of hemorrhagic colitis outbreaks associated with a rare Escherichia coli serotype. J Clin Microbiol. 1983 Sep;18(3):512–520. doi: 10.1128/jcm.18.3.512-520.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]