Haemorrhagic colitis and escherichia coli. 0157: H7

ABSTRACT

This work included 71 patients with bloody diarrhea aiming to determine the role of Escherichia coli 0157 H7 [E. coli 0157 H7] that has recently associated with hemorrhagic colitis [HC] in all age group and with hemolytic uremic syndrome [HUS] in children. All patients were from villages near by Rositta and Kafr-El- Dawar. This study was carried out during the period from May 1989 to October 1990, where outbreaks and many sporadic cases have been reported. Thorough clinical and laboratory investigations were done. Bacteriological study of the stool samples revealed heavy growth of E. Coli with no other definite bacterial pathogen in 66 cases, E. coli 0157 H7 was identified in only two of these 66 samples, one from case of HC and the second from HUS. The other 64 E. coli have not been serotyped. Klebsiella oxytoca was the pathogen in 3 cases whereas campylobacter in only two cases. E. coli 0157 H7 isolates were sensitive to aminoglycosides and tetracyclines but resistant to ampicillin cephalothin, chloramphenicol, and trimethoprim- sulfamethoxazole. Also, these serotypes were not invasive by standard tests. From this study, it was concluded that E. coli 0157 H7 is a rare serotype in this locality