Outbreaks of E. coli O104:H4 infection: update 29
On 5 July, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued the report from the Task Force established to coordinate investigations to track down the possible source of the French and German outbreaks of E. coli O104:H4. Details of the task force report and its conclusions can be found on the EFSA website.
Outbreak of E. coli O104:H4 infection in Germany, France and Sweden
In Germany, the daily numbers of reported haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS)/enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) cases have steadily decreased since they peaked on 22 May. Nevertheless, the cumulative numbers of cases from Germany have continued to rise, primarily owing to delays in notification. However, from 7 July onwards, the EHEC (STEC) cases reported by Germany will only include the cases that meet the clinical criteria in accordance with European Union (EU) case definitions. This explains the reduction in the number of EHEC (STEC) cases reported by Germany compared to the previous WHO update of 1 July.
The last reported date of illness onset in a patient with confirmed E. coli O104:H4 was 26 June. The last reported date of illness onset among all cases (also without E. coli O104:H4 confirmation) was 29 June.
No more cases of E. coli O104:H4 infection have been reported from France or Sweden since the previous WHO update of 1 July. In France, one HUS case has been disregarded since the previous WHO update, as the infection was caused by another E. coli serotype.
Global situation of E. coli O104:H4 infections
The table below shows the total number of globally reported (as of 06 July) cases of and deaths from E. coli (EAggEC VTEC) O104:H4 infection since the beginning of the outbreak in Germany on 1 May 2011. In total, 16 countries in Europe and North America have reported 3941 cases of E. coli O104:H4 infection, including 52 fatalities.
| Country |
HUS |
EHEC |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases | Deaths |
Cases | Deaths | |
| Austria | 1 |
0 | 4 |
0 |
| Canada | 0 | 0 |
1 | 0 |
| Czech Republic | 0 |
0 | 1 |
0 |
| Denmark | 9 |
0 |
14 |
0 |
| France | 7 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
| Germany |
859 | 34 | 2945* | 16 |
| Greece | 0 |
0 | 1 | 0 |
| Luxembourg | 1 |
0 | 1 |
0 |
| Netherlands | 4 |
0 | 7 |
0 |
| Norway | 0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Poland | 2 |
0 |
1 | 0 |
| Spain | 1 |
0 | 1 |
0 |
| Sweden | 18 |
1 |
35 |
0 |
| Switzerland | 0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
| United Kingdom | 3 |
0 |
3 | 0 |
| United States of America | 4 | 1 |
2 | 0 |
| Total | 909 | 36 | 3032 | 16 |
* Only includes cases that meet the EU case definition (as of 7 July 2011 onwards).
Note
EHEC and HUS have exclusive notification categories, so case numbers should not overlap. The figures in any rapidly evolving outbreak, however, are provisional and subject to change for a variety of reasons.
In providing the above information, WHO wishes to recognize the contribution of its Member States, and technical partners such as the European Commission, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and a number of WHO collaborating centres.
