Since early May 2011, an increased incidence of haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) and bloody diarrhoea related to infections with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) has been observed in Germany, with most cases in the north of the country. Cases reported from other European countries had travelled to this area. First results of a case–control study conducted in Hamburg suggest an ass...

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) bacteria are zoonotic pathogens. We report here the high-quality complete genome sequences of three STEC O177:H- (fliCH25) strains, SMN152SH1, SMN013SH2, and SMN197SH3. The assembled genomes consisted of one optical map-verified circular chromosome for each strain, plus two plasmids for SMN013SH2 and three plasmids for SMN152SH1 and SMN197SH3, respe...

Thirty-eight strains of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) were characterised in terms of biochemical properties, enterohaemolysin production and plasmid carriage. A wide variation in the biochemical properties was observed among the STEC, with 14 distinct biotypes identified. Biotype 1 was the most common, found in 29% of the strains. Enterohaemolysin production was detected in 29% ...

The isolation of non-O157 STEC from food samples has proved to be challenging. The selection of a suitable selective isolation agar remains problematic. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate six chromogenic agar media for the isolation of STEC: Tryptone Bile X-glucuronide agar (TBX), Rainbow® Agar O157 (RB), Rapid E. coli O157:H7 (RE), Modified MacConkey Aga...

The purpose of this paper is to propose a more integrated and more aggressive system approach to food safety rather than focusing on one segment of the industry, or on one approach as described by or constrained by one set of regulations. We focus on the prevalence and control measures for Salmonella and pathogenic Escherichia coli, particularly, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) in live cat...

The impact of livestock farming on the incidence of human Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infection was assessed by using several livestock density indicators (LDI) that were generated in a systematic approach. A total of 80 LDI were considered suitable proxy measures for livestock density. Multivariate Poisson regression identified several LDI as having a significant spatial asso...

Subtilase cytotoxin (SubAB) from verotoxin (VT)-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) strains was first described in the 98NK2 strain and has been associated with human disease. However, SubAB has recently been found in two VT-negative E. coli strains (ED 591 and ED 32). SubAB is encoded by two closely linked, cotranscribed genes (subA and subB). In this study, we investigated the presence of subAB...

A study was designed to investigate management factors that might influence the shedding of verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) O157 by beef cows in Scotland, where there is a particularly high rate of human infection. Thirty-two herds were visited at least monthly over approximately 1 year for collection of fresh faecal pat samples and information on management factors. The faecal ...

Hfq Virulence Regulation in Enterohemorrhagic 1 Escherichia coli O157:H7 Strain 86-24 2 3 Running title: Hfq Virulence Regulation in EHEC Strain 86-24 4 5 Melissa M. Kendall, Charley C. Gruber, David A. Rasko, David T. Hughes, & Vanessa 6 Sperandio 7 1 Department of Microbiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 8 Dallas, Texas, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., 75390-9048, U.S....