Escherichia coli O157:H7 (often referred to simply as E. coli O157:H7) and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) can be particularly alarming for parents due to the severity and potential outcomes of infections associated with them. Here’s why they are considered a serious concern: Read more at the link above
Posted in CORE Investigation Table, E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, FDA, STEC, STEC E.coli
Scientists have revealed that lettuce contaminated by animal waste during flooding was the likely vehicle of infection in an E. coli outbreak in 2022.
In September 2022, a large outbreak of STEC O157:H7 was identified in the United Kingdom. It was one of the biggest E. coli outbreaks since the early 1980s.
In late August and early September, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Gastrointestinal Bacteria Reference Unit (GBRU) reported a substantial increase in submitting certain fecal samples and isolates that were presumptive for STEC.
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) serotype O157 is a food-borne gastrointestinal pathogen of public health concern. Infections with STEC can present as sporadic cases or as outbreaks, and they can be symptomatic or asymptomatic. Symptoms can range from mild diarrhoea to abdominal cramps, vomiting and severe bloody diarrhoea, with ca 30% of cases requiring hospital admission. Overall, around 5% of cases (rising to 11% in children aged 1–4 years) develop haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS), which is a severe multisystem condition that predominantly affects the kidneys and can be fatal [1].
In 2022, STEC was the third most commonly notified food-borne zoonotic pathogen in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries [2]. Of the 29 EU/EEA countries reporting data for 2022, 25 reported 8,565 confirmed cases of STEC infection [3], with 71 food-borne STEC outbreaks reported by 14 countries [4].
The gastrointestinal tract of ruminants is the ecological niche of STEC, with cattle and sheep being the main animal reservoirs [5]. Transmission from animals to humans can occur via direct contact with colonised animals or their environment or by the consumption of food or water contaminated with the pathogen. Food items frequently associated with food-borne outbreaks of STEC O157 include raw or undercooked beef or lamb meat products, unpasteurised dairy products and fresh produce exposed to rainwater run-off, floodwater or irrigation water containing animal faeces [6].
Climate hazards have previously been described as having the potential to activate cascading risk pathways with a sequence of secondary, causally connected events [7]. For example, cascading risks associated with heavy precipitation followed by flooding of animal environments, may lead to contamination of crops and cause food-borne outbreaks of zoonotic diseases. Higher pathogen loads frequently detected in floodwater after rainstorms [8,9] and extreme weather events have been associated with outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness [10–12].
In late August and early September 2022, the United Kingdom (UK) Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Gastrointestinal Bacteria Reference Unit (GBRU) reported a substantial increase in the submission of containment level 3 faecal samples and isolates that were presumptive for STEC. The number of presumptive STEC isolates received by the reference laboratory in the first 6 days of September 2022 was 245, compared with 259 isolates received during the whole of September 2019, the most recent pre-pandemic year for which data were comparable. Between 5 and 7 September, the number of confirmed STEC O157 cases was 73 compared with an average of 16 cases of STEC O157 reported each week in the previous 4 weeks. This, coupled with a substantial increase in the number of enhanced surveillance questionnaires (ESQs) for STEC cases suggested a surge in cases warranting further investigation. On 7 September 2022, a national level outbreak was declared and a multi-agency incident management team (IMT) established.
The IMT aimed to investigate the source of the outbreak by undertaking traditional epidemiological analyses and traceback investigations. A separate sub-group of the IMT explored a novel triangulation methodology using meteorological, flood risk, land use and land-classification and sheep holding density data, to explain the contamination and independently determine the potential source of the STEC outbreak.
Leafy greens such as spinach and lettuce are among the most nutrient-packed foods we can eat—and some of the most prone to make us miserable, or worse. The pathogenic bacterium Escherichia coli O157:H7 causes millions of illnesses globally each year, health authorities say, including thousands of severe infections that can lead to kidney failure and even death.
The infections are often contracted from contaminated produce irrigated with water that contains animal waste runoff or grown in open fields where intruding wildlife leave feces.
To help address this challenge, a University of Maryland food safety expert is conducting microbial research to determine best practices for commercial growers who find evidence of wildlife faeces, or scat, in their fields.
Shirley Micallef, a professor in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, recently concluded a series of field trials on Maryland’s Eastern Shore that examined how E. coli moves from scat to a lettuce crop following a rain event.
The results from the research, which involved other faculty and students in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, were recently published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science.
The FDA is investigating a new outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections that has sickened 25 people.
The Food and Drug Administration has not reported where the patients live or how old they are. The agency has begun traceback efforts, but is not yet reporting what food or foods are being traced.
E. coli is particularly dangerous and often results in the hospitalization of patients. Some patients develop a type of kidney failure and others develop brain injuries. Death is more likely in patients infected with E. coli O157:H7 than other types of E. coli.
Lower Valley Processing, Official Establishment No. 007 located in Kalispell, Montana, has voluntarily recalled all non-intact, raw products (e.g., ground meat products) produced from animals slaughtered on June 5, 2024, because they may be adulterated with Escherichia coli 0157:H7, the Montana Department of Livestock announced today. Potentially affected products were labeled with “Lower Valley Processing, Co.”, establishment number “EST. 007” inside the Montana mark of inspection on the product labels, and lot numbers 1398, 1399, and 1400. The source of the E. coli contamination has not been identified.
Posted in E.coli O157, E.coli O157:H7, food recall, product recall, Recall, STEC, STEC E.coli
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