Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Their names appear in alphabetical order. All Rights Reserved. Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli EHEC OH2, belonging to sequence type ST, is among the main causes of hemolytic and uremic syndrome in Europe, a major concern in young children.
Aside from the usual intimin and Shiga toxin virulence factors VFs , this emerging serotype possesses a mosaic plasmid combining extra-intestinal VF- and antibiotic resistance-encoding genes. This hybrid pathotype can be involved in invasive infections, a rare occurrence in EHEC infections.
Here, we aimed to optimize its detection, improve its clinical diagnosis, and identify its currently unknown reservoir. OH2 EHEC strains isolated in France between and were phenotypically and genetically analyzed and compared with non-O80 strains. The specificity and sensitivity of a PCR test and a culture medium designed, based on the molecular and phenotypic signatures of OH2 EHEC, were assessed on a collection of strains and stool samples.
This loss of metabolic function is due to deletion of the entire melibiose operon associated with the insertion of a pb sequence 70mel , a genetic scar shared by all ST strains. These new tools may facilitate the diagnosis of this atypical clone, help the food industry to identify the reservoir and improve our epidemiological knowledge of this threatening and emerging clone.
HUS, defined by a triad including hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and acute renal failure, is the most severe complication in young children and the primary cause of acute renal failure in children under 3 years of age in France 1. The historical OH7 serotype has long been the most frequent serotype to be involved in HUS worldwide. However, new molecular diagnosis methods and epidemiological evolution have revealed a change in the distribution of serogroups of EHEC associated with HUS in Europe 2 , as well as in the United States 3.
