Escherichia coli 0157:H7, an Emerging Gastrointestinal Pathogen

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Abstract
To examine the incidence ofEscherichia coli0157:H7 enteric infections in the United States and to evaluate the vehicles of transmission for sporadic cases, we conducted a one-year, population-based study at a large health maintenance organization (HMO) in the Puget Sound area of Washington State. All stool specimens submitted for culture to the HMO laboratory were screened forE coli0157:H7; the organism was identified in 25 (0.4%) of 6485 stool specimens. All patients withE coli0157:H7 identified had diarrhea; 24 patients (96%) had bloody diarrhea. Exposure histories demonstrated that rare ground beef was consumed more often by patients (21%) than by age-matched control subjects (4%) in the week before onset of illness. Raw milk also was consumed by two patients but by none of the control subjects. Incidence rates for laboratory-confirmed enteric infections in the HMO population were as follows:Campylobacter, 50/100 000 person-years;Salmonella, 21/100 000 person-years;E coli0157:H7, 8/100 000 person-years; andShigella, 7/100 000 person-years. The organism is a more common pathogen in the United States than is generally recognized, and the diagnosis should be considered for patients with suspected enteric infection. (JAMA1988;259:3567-3570)

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