Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli

Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli consists of strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli that, when infecting humans, have been linked with the severe complication hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). They are known by a number of names, including enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), shiga-like toxin-producing E. coli (STEC or SLTEC), hemolytic uremic syndrome–associated enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (HUSEC) and verocytotoxin- or verotoxin-producing E. coli (VTEC).

All these strains of pathogenic bacteria produce Shiga-like toxin (also known as verotoxin), a major cause of foodborne illness. These are distinguished from other pathotypes of intestinal pathogenic E. coli including enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC), enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC), and diffusely adherent E. coli (DAEC).

The best known of these strains is O157:H7, but non-O157 strains cause an estimated 36,000 illnesses, 1,000 hospitalizations and 30 deaths in the United States yearly. Food safety specialists recognize "Big Six" strains; O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145. A 2011 outbreak in Germany was caused by another STEC, O104:H4. This strain has both enteroaggregative and enterohemorrhagic properties. Both the O145 and O104 strains can cause hemolytic-uremic syndrome; the former strain shown to account for 2% to 51% of known HUS cases; an estimated 56% of such cases are caused by O145 and 14% by other EHEC strains.