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Results of screening for verocytotoxin-producingEscherichia coli in faeces in Belgium

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Abstract

During an 18-month period all stools submitted to a microbiology laboratory in Belgium for culture were screened for VerocytotoxinproducingEscherichia coli (VTEC) serotype O157. In the stool samples from 3940 patients, eight (0.2 %) VTEC O157 strains were isolated, seven of which were O157:H7. Additional screening for other serotypes of VTEC in 332 selected stool samples yielded four more strains (serotypes O2:K1:H6, O111:H−, O117:K1:H7 and O“C70/86”:H−). The 0.3 % isolation rate for all VTEC was comparable to that forShigella spp. Eight children under 30 months and two adults suffered from uncomplicated gastroenteritis. A 5-month-old child and a 41-year-old woman presented with hemolytic uremic syndrome a few days after onset of a diarrheal episode.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Akademisch Ziekenhuis, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan, 101, B-1090, Brussels, Belgium

    D. Piérard, R. Van Etterijck, J. Breynaert, L. Moriau & S. Lauwers

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  1. D. Piérard
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  2. R. Van Etterijck
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  3. J. Breynaert
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  4. L. Moriau
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  5. S. Lauwers
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Piérard, D., Van Etterijck, R., Breynaert, J. et al. Results of screening for verocytotoxin-producingEscherichia coli in faeces in Belgium. Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 9, 198–201 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01963837

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