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15 August News, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 53, Issue 4, 15 August 2011, Pages i–ii, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/cir450
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Deadly E. coli Mixes Common Toxin With Rare “Glue”
3 June 2011 (Reuters Health [Julie Steenhuysen])—Scientists probing the deadly Escherichia coli strain in Europe are finding the bacteria combines a highly poisonous but common toxin with a rarely seen “glue” that binds it to a patient’s intestines.
The strain, known as 0104:H4, is a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (Shiga toxin-producing E. coli [STEC], Verotoxin-producing E. coli [VTEC], or Enterohemorrhagic E. coli [EHEC]).
This class has the ability to stick to intestinal walls where it pumps out toxins, causing diarrhea and vomiting. In severe cases, it causes hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), attacking the kidneys and causing coma, seizure, and stroke.
“Germany is now reporting 470 cases of HUS. That is absolutely extraordinary,” Dr. Robert Tauxe, a foodborne diseases expert at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told Reuters. The CDC has been working with German health authorities on the case since late last week.