ESCHERICHIA COLI 0 55 B 5 INFECTION IN A GASTROENTERITIS WARD

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Abstract
During 1949-50 an investigation was made of E. coli 0 55 B 5 cross-infection in a ward for infants with diarrhea. Each infant was nursed in a single room by an isolation nursing technic. Rectal swabs were taken from all infants on admission and at regular intervals throughout their stay. 12 infants harbored 0 55 B 5 on admission and 46 became cross-infected with 0 55 B 5 strains. Four successive 0 55 B 5 outbreaks occurred in the ward. H antigen typing of the 0 55 B 5 strains showed that the 1st and 4th outbreaks were due solely to H 6 strains, whereas the 2d and 3d were due to H 7, H 2 or H 6 strains. Only 1 sporadic ward infection, due to an H 7 strain, was observed. The H antigen type outbreaks (except the 1st which had begun before the start of the work) were due to admission of infants excreting the respective H antigen types; continuity of infection was maintained by overlapping series of infected infants. The authors considered that extension of serological analysis of E. coli strains to include identification of H antigens would help solve epidemio-logical problems relating to intestinal infection in hospitals or elsewhere.