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. 1999 Mar-Apr;5(2):285–290. doi: 10.3201/eid0502.990217

An epidemic of bloody diarrhea: Escherichia coli O157 emerging in Cameroon?

P Cunin 1, E Tedjouka 1, Y Germani 1, C Ncharre 1, R Bercion 1, J Morvan 1, P M Martin 1
PMCID: PMC2640683  PMID: 10221885

Abstract

Between November 1997 and April 20, 1998, bloody diarrhea sickened 298 persons in Cameroon. Laboratory investigation of the epidemic (case-fatality rate, 16.4%) documented amoebiasis in one of three patients and three types of pathogens: multidrug-resistant Shigella dysenteriae type 1, S. boydii, and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli. We report the first isolation of E. coli O157:H7 in Cameroon and the second series of cases in the Central African region.

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Selected References

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