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Today, the Smittskyddsinstitutet (Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control) announced their first locally acquired case of EHEC due to the same enterohemorrhagic E. coli strain that has recently sickened thousands, and killed dozens, across Germany and parts of Europe.
Exactly how this patient – a middle-aged man from Skåne (southern Sweden) with no history of travel to Germany and no known contact with anyone returning from the region – came to acquire the infection is unknown.
Of particular concern would be if this virulent strain of E. Coli has managed to get into Sweden’s food supply. There are other possibilities, of course, including acquiring the bacteria indirectly from contact with another person.
Tracking down the source of this infection is now a top priority for local health officials.
This from The Local.se.
Sweden reports first domestic EHEC case
Published: 28 Jun 11 16:24 CET |
For the first time, a Swede with no connections to Germany has been infected with the virulent enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) bacteria that has claimed dozens of lives across Europe, Swedish health authorities reported on Tuesday.
“This means that the source of the infection is in Sweden, which is a lot worse, because it might mean that there is some form of infected food product in circulation that we haven’t yet identified, “ said Sofie Ivarsson, epidemiologist at the institute to news agency TT.
Meanwhile the latest ECDC update shows roughly 4,000 cases in Germany and 48 related deaths.
Separately, another much smaller outbreak featuring the same E. coli O104:H4 strain has been detected in Bordeaux, France, hospitalizing at least 9 people.
ECDC update on outbreak in Germany and cluster in France
27 Jun 2011
ECDC
On Friday 24 June, France reported a cluster of eight patients with bloody diarrhoea, after having participated in an event in the commune of Bègles around Bordeaux on 8 June. Of these, seven have developed HUS, a severe complication of E. coli infection. In three of the patients, infection with E. coli O104:H4 has been confirmed.
The French authorities are investigating this new cluster of STEC - the suspected vehicle of infection for the cases and whether there is any link between that cluster and the large outbreak reported from Germany.
Since 25 June in the EU/EEA, 880 HUS cases, including 31 deaths, and 3 039 non-HUS cases, including 16 deaths have so far been reported. ECDC is continuously monitoring the enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) oubreak in Germany and other EU Member States.
While the original outbreak in Germany is winding down, two fresh foci of infection – seemingly unrelated to the main outbreak – leave us with many unanswered questions.
And so the epidemiological investigation continues.
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