Abstract
.Over a 3-month period, ten children (aged 1–13 years) from a 15-km radius in southern Picardy developed typical D+ hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Polymerase chain reaction, using two pairs of verocytotoxin 1-(VT1) and VT2-specific oligonucleotide primers and an internal control was used to detect VT genes directly from stools samples. VT2 gene was detected in seven of nine patients’ stools and in 5 of 14 contacts’ stool samples. A VT2-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) O111 was isolated from five of nine children’s stools and in 3 adults’ stools of the 14 tested. A retrospective case-control study was performed which showed a higher rate of absence in school A, where the first four cases were detected, compared with a control school. The odds ratio for the whole school was 2.77 (confidence interval 1.46 – 5.26), and 15 (confidence interval 2.54 – 115.6) if only the nursery classes were considered. A culture of all food samples from households was always negative for VTEC. A retrospective cohort study performed in 89% of children attending school A showed no linkage between food or drink and gastroenteritis. These findings emphasize the potential for person-to-person transmission of VT2-producing E. coli O111, since the only salient risk factor was close contact.
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Received March 20, 1996; received in revised form and accepted July 15, 1996
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Boudailliez, B., Berquin, P., Mariani-Kurkdjian, P. et al. Possible person-to-person transmission of Escherichia coli O111 – associated hemolytic uremic syndrome. Pediatr Nephrol 11, 36–39 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/s004670050229
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s004670050229