Main points
A total of 402 confirmed cases of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157 were reported in England and Wales in 2020.
The lowest incidence of STEC O157 was in the London region (0.29 per 100,000 population) and the highest in the South West region (1.04 per 100,000 population).
Children aged 5 to 9 years had the highest incidence of infection (1.50 per 100,000 population, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12 to 1.96).
One-third of confirmed STEC O157 cases in England were hospitalised and 3% were reported to have developed Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome (HUS).
A further 286 specimens in England and 41 in Wales were positive for Shiga toxins (Stx) genes on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at the Gastrointestinal Bacteria Reference Unit (GBRU) but an organism was not cultured.
The most commonly isolated non-O157 STEC serogroup was STEC O26 (England: n=103 out of 553, 19%; and Wales: n=26 out of 268, 15%).
Three outbreaks of STEC involving 63 cases in England were investigated in 2020.
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