Escherichia coli O104:H4 is a rare enterohemorrhagic strain of the bacterium Escherichia coli, and the cause of the 2011 Escherichia coli O104:H4 outbreak.[1] The "O" in the serological classification identifies the cell wall lipopolysaccharide antigen, and the "H" identifies the flagella antigen.
Genomic sequencing by BGI Shenzhen revealed that the bacteria belong to a "new super-toxic strain", a hybrid that has acquired some virulence abilities of enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) strains by horizontal gene transfer.[2][3]
Prior to the 2011 outbreak, only one case identified as O104:H4 had been documented in literature, and this case involved a woman in Korea in 2005.[4] A presumably related strain, O104:H21, caused an outbreak of hemorrhagic colitis in Montana in 1994.[5]
References
Vorlage:Gram-negative bacterial diseases Vorlage:Consumer Food Safety
- ↑ EHEC O104:H4, causing a severe outbreak in Germany (May 2011)
- ↑ BGI Sequences Genome of the Deadly E. Coli in Germany and Reveals New Super-Toxic Strain. BGI, 2. Juni 2011, abgerufen am 2. Juni 2011.
- ↑ David Tribe: BGI Sequencing news: German EHEC strain is a chimera created by horizontal gene transfer. 2. Juni 2011, abgerufen am 2. Juni 2011.
- ↑ Vorlage:Vcite journal
- ↑ Center for Disease Control (USA). (1995). Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 44(27):501–3