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. 2017 May 25;22(21):30541.
doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2017.22.21.30541.

Ongoing haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) outbreak caused by sorbitol-fermenting (SF) Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157, Germany, December 2016 to May 2017

Sabine Vygen-Bonnet  1 , Bettina Rosner  1 , Hendrik Wilking  1 , Angelika Fruth  2 , Rita Prager  2 , Annelene Kossow  3 , Christina Lang  2 , Sandra Simon  2 , Juliane Seidel  1   4   5 , Mirko Faber  1 , Anika Schielke  1 , Kai Michaelis  1 , Alexandra Holzer  1 , Rolf Kamphausen  6 , Daniela Kalhöfer  7 , Sebastian Thole  5   7 , Alexander Mellmann  3 , Antje Flieger  2 , Klaus Stark  1
Affiliations

Ongoing haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) outbreak caused by sorbitol-fermenting (SF) Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157, Germany, December 2016 to May 2017

Sabine Vygen-Bonnet et al. Euro Surveill. .

Abstract

We report an ongoing, protracted and geographically dispersed outbreak of haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) and gastroenteritis in Germany, involving 30 cases since December 2016. The outbreak was caused by the sorbitol-fermenting immotile variant of Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) Escherichia coli O157. Molecular typing revealed close relatedness between isolates from 14 cases. One HUS patient died. Results of a case-control study suggest packaged minced meat as the most likely food vehicle. Food safety investigations are ongoing.

Keywords: HUS; Shiga toxin-producing E. coli - STEC; food-borne infections; haemolytic uraemic syndrome; outbreak.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Ongoing haemolytic uraemic syndrome and gastroenteritis outbreak caused by sorbitol-fermenting Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157, Germany, December 2016–May 2017 (n = 30 outbreak cases)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Geographic distribution of cases, ongoing outbreak of haemolytic uraemic syndrome and gastroenteritis caused by sorbitol-fermenting Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157, Germany, December 2016–May 2017 (n = 30 outbreak cases)
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