A sporadic child case of EHEC O26 infection transmitted presumably from calves, June 1999 - Miyagi
(IASR 2000; 21: 35-35)

In June 1999, enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O26:H11 (Vero toxin-1 positive) was isolated from stool of a 2 year old boy, who presented diarrhea and fever and visited an outpatient department. Stool samples of his family, swab and stool samples from 5 cows they bred, were collected for EHEC O26 isolation. Two calves yielded EHEC O26. Strain A from the patient and strain B-1 and B-2 from the calves were compared by biochemical examinations, drug sensitivity, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis. These 3 strains did not catalyze lactose, and other biochemical characterization and drug sensitivity pattern were identical. PFGE analysis using Xba I was conducted these 3 strains and 2 other EHEC O26 isolates, which were collected during 2 incidences (C and D) occurred nearby in the same time. PFGE pattern of the patient's strain (lane 3) and those of the calves (lane 1 and 2) were identical. Whereas, this pattern was obviously different from those of other sporadic cases (lane 4 and 5) (Figure). Thus, the isolate from the patient was confirmed identical with the isolates from the calves. Interview to his family revealed that he often played around the cowshed. He was supposed to be infected during contact with the calves.

Reported by Noriyuki Saito, Yumi Ito, Takashi Hatakeyama, Kazuo Akiyama, and Hiroyuki Shiraishi, Dept. of Microbiology, Miyagi Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environment.

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