Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Infections in Germany

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Abstract
A prospective study was carried out in collaboration with two children's hospitals in Würzburg, Germany to assess the incidence and clinical manifestations of infections due to Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in children. Between 1991 and 1995, stool samples from 2788 children with enteritis were investigated for the occurrence of STEC. STEC cultures from stools were screened using PCR with primers complementary to Shiga toxin 1(Stx1) and Shiga toxin 2 (Stx2) genes. PCR-positive samples were further subjected to colony blot hybridization and probe positive colonies were serotyped and analyzed for the presence of virulence genes. There was an increase in the incidence of STEC infections from 0.4% in 1991 to 2.8% in 1994. In 1995 the number of infections remained nearly unchanged (2.5%). Infection with STEC was associated with painful nonbloody diarrhea in most patients. Among the 35 patients in this study with stools containing STEC, only 9 (25.7%) had O157 colonies of which 3 (8.6%) were O15...

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