Foodborne Pathogens and Disease 2010-01-01

Outbreak caused by cad-negative Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O111, Oklahoma.

Veronica E Calderon, Qing Chang, Mike McDermott, Michael B Lytle, Garry McKee, Krystle Rodriguez, David A Rasko, Vanessa Sperandio, Alfredo G Torres

Index: Foodborne Pathog. Dis. 7(1) , 107-9, (2010)

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Abstract

An outbreak of severe diarrheal illness was recently reported in northeastern Oklahoma, and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli serotype O111 was identified as the etiological agent. Our results indicated that this isolate is unable to decarboxylate lysine, a characteristic that is shared with other outbreak-linked O111 isolates. Therefore, further investigation is recommended to determine whether the lysine decarboxylase test could be used to identify a subset of pathogenic E. coli, particularly Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O111 isolates, that have the potential of causing human infections and outbreaks.