Published Date: 1997-06-10 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> E. coli, non-0157 - Belgium
Archive Number: 19970610.1215

E COLI, NON-O157 - BELGIUM
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Date: Fri, 06 Jun 1997 18:44:47 -0400
From: Robert A. LaBudde <ral@lcfltd.com>
Excerpted from FSNET (D. Powell, Univ. Guelph):
FOOD BUG DETECTIVES LOOK BEYOND THE USUAL SUSPECTS
June 7, 1997
New Scientist
Michael Day
This story cites Denis Pierard of the Free University of Brussels who, along
with colleagues, told the Eighth European Congress on Clinical Microbiology
and Infectious Diseases in Lausanne, Switzerland, last week that more than a
quarter of the instances of life-threatening kidney failure in Belgian
hospitals that are blamed on E. coli O157 are caused by other strains of the
bacterium, adding that, "These results are important because at the present
time everyone is looking for O157 only because they know about it and because
it is easy to test for."
The story notes that Pierard and his colleagues cultured bacteria from
samples of feces from 45 patients suffering from hemolytic uremic syndrome.
All the cases had been attributed to E. coli O157, yet this strain was absent
from more than a quarter of the samples. Instead, they contained _E. coli_
belonging to five other strains: O26, O91, O103, O111 and O172.
Pierard adds that new tests will have to be developed for the five strains.
---
Robert A. LaBudde, PhD, PAS
Least Cost Formulations, Ltd. URL: http://lcfltd.com/
824 Timberlake Drive Tel: 757-467-0954
Virginia Beach, VA 23464-3239 Fax: 757-467-2947
e-mail: <ral@lcfltd.com>
...........................................................................chc
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