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. 2016 Jan;144(1):171-81.
doi: 10.1017/S0950268815001016. Epub 2015 Jun 4.

A large Great Britain-wide outbreak of STEC O157 phage type 8 linked to handling of raw leeks and potatoes

N Launders  1 , M E Locking  2 , M Hanson  3 , G Willshaw  1 , A Charlett  1 , R Salmon  4 , J Cowden  2 , K S Harker, G K Adak  1
Affiliations

A large Great Britain-wide outbreak of STEC O157 phage type 8 linked to handling of raw leeks and potatoes

N Launders et al. Epidemiol Infect. 2016 Jan.

Erratum in

Abstract

Between December 2010 and July 2011, 252 cases of STEC O157 PT8 stx1 + 2 infection were reported in England, Scotland and Wales. This was the largest outbreak of STEC reported in England and the second largest in the UK to date. Eighty cases were hospitalized, with two cases of haemolytic uraemic syndrome and one death reported. Routine investigative data were used to generate a hypothesis but the subsequent case-control study was inconclusive. A second, more detailed, hypothesis generation exercise identified consumption or handling of vegetables as a potential mode of transmission. A second case-control study demonstrated that cases were more likely than controls to live in households whose members handled or prepared leeks bought unwrapped [odds ratio (OR) 40, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2·08-769·4], and potatoes bought in sacks (OR 13·13, 95% CI 1·19-145·3). This appears to be the first outbreak of STEC O157 infection linked to the handling of leeks.

Keywords: Epidemiology; Shiga-like toxin-producing E. coli; food safety; foodborne infections; outbreaks.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Epidemic curve – primary and secondary domestic cases of STEC O157 PT8 stx1 + 2 with the outbreak profile reported (n = 204).
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Map of outbreak cases per million residents for the regions of England, Scotland and Wales.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Age and gender distribution per million population.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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