E. coli O45, a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) serotype, has been responsible for outbreaks of illness in the United States, including those below.
- E. coli O45 from Meat – An outbreak in Marathon County, Wisconsin, has spread to three people in Michigan, officials said in a press release. The investigation into the source of the E. coli is ongoing but Marathon County health officials identified the type of E. coli as E. coli 045. In November and early December 2005, several persons in the Wausau, Wisconsin, area developed illness from E.coli contracted from eating smoked ready-to-eat meat products processed at Zillman Meat Market in Wausau.
- E coli O45 Outbreak at a Prison – In 2005, 13 inmates at a prison in New York had bloody diarrhea caused by E. coli. During the investigation of the outbreak, isolates from three patients were sent to CDC and determined to be Shiga toxin-producing E. coli STEC serotype O45: NM (one patient had both O45:NM and O45:H2). These E. coli O45 isolates were indistinguishable by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The source of the outbreak likely was an ill food worker. These cases represent the first outbreak of STEC O45 infections ever identified in the United States.1
- E. coli O45 Infection from State Fair – In an outbreak linked to manure at a State Fair, one child contracted an E. coli O45 infection and developed HUS. According to the final report on the outbreak issued by the CDC, “Complete serotyping at the CDC laboratory determined the O45 isolate to be E. coli O45:H19. This isolate was negative for shiga toxin (stx), eaeA, and Ehly virulence genes. An isolate negative for all three virulence genes is unlikely to cause disease, although serial culture may have diminished capacity to produce stx. A serum sample from the HUS patient with confirmed E. coli O45:H19 infection had elevated O157 IgM antibodies, suggesting co-infection with O157.”
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Reference: 1. Importance of Culture Confirmation of Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia coli Infection as Illustrated by Outbreaks of Gastroenteritis — New York and North Carolina, 2005, MMWR, September 29, 2006 / 55(38);1042-1045.