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Escherichia coli O104:H4 from 2011 European Outbreak and Strain from Republic of Korea

tetano

Editor, Senior Moderator
DOI: 10.3201/eid1709.110879
Suggested citation for this article: Kim J, Oh K, Jeon S, Cho S, Lee D, Hong S, et al. Escherichia coli O104:H4 from 2011 European outbreak and strain from Republic of Korea [letter]. Emerg Infect Dis. 2011 Sep; [Epub ahead of print]


Escherichia coli O104:H4 from 2011 European Outbreak and Strain from Republic of Korea


To the Editor: Beginning in early May 2011, an outbreak caused by Shiga toxin?producing Escherichia coli O104:H4 was reported in Germany and other countries in Europe. In this outbreak, the number of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) cases has been unusually high (1). As of June 9, 2011, a total of 722 cases of HUS, 19 deaths, and 2,745 cases of enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) infection were reported (2).
A case of HUS caused by E. coli O104:H4 was first reported in South Korea in 2004 (3). Because infections caused by E. coli O104:H4 have been reported rarely, interest has arisen in the E. coli O104:H4 strain from South Korea. We characterized the E. coli O104:H4 strain isolated in South Korea (EC0417119) in 2004 and compared it with the E. coli O104:H4 strain associated with the current EHEC outbreak in Europe.
The serotype EC0417119, isolated from a patient with HUS in 2004, was reconfirmed as E. coli O104:H4. The strain was positive for stx1 and stx2 by PCR (4) but negative for aggR by PCR (5). In the antimicrobial drug susceptibility test using VITEK 2 AST-N169 test kit (bioM?rieux, Marcy L?Etoile, France), the strain was resistant to ampicillin, ampicillin/sulbactam, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole but susceptible to ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, nalidixic acid, and tetracycline.
We also performed pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) for EC0417119, according to the PulseNet standard protocol (6), and compared its PFGE profile with that of the current outbreak strain E. coli O104:H4, which was obtained from the PulseNet Asia Pacific network. PFGE profiles resolved by either XbaI or BlnI did not match each other.

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http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/17/9/pdfs/11-0879.pdf
 
Re: Escherichia coli O104:H4 from 2011 European Outbreak and Strain from Republic of Korea

For clarity the conclusion of the previous article:


In conclusion, there is no evidence that the E. coli O104:H4 strain isolated in South Korea in 2004 is related to the strain
that has a caused the massive and unprecedented EHEC outbreak in Europe.
 
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