Outbreak of Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome in Children in Belarus: Epidemiology, Features of Clinical Course and Laboratory Changes, and Outcomes.

Introduction. Outbreaks of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) have been described in many countries around the world, but no such information is available for Eastern European countries. Purpose. To determine clinical and laboratory differences, and to evaluate morbidity and outcomes during and outside the outbreak of HUS in children in Belarus. Materials and methods. A total o f 80 children diagnosed with HUS in 2021 in Belarus were included in the study;64 of them were admitted to the pediatric dialysis center in Minsk and divided into 2 groups: group 1 (29 children) - outside the HUS outbreak, and group 2 (35 children) - during the outbreak. In addition to standard laboratory tests, 52 children underwent stool analysis for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli by real-time PCR (TaqMan Array Card). Results. The incidence of HUS in 2021 was 5.0/100 000 children <15 years (80 cases) and 10.6/100 000 children <5 years (59 cases). Boys were 52%, children <5 years old were 74%, patients with atypical HUS were 2.5%. Between 27.09.2021 and 29.10.2021 an outbreak of HUS was registered in 45 children, mostly from three country's regions: Minsk city - 17, Minsk region - 16 and Vitebsk region - 11. Patients of groups 1 and 2 did not differ in terms of age, 2.5 (1.6;5.1) and 3.6 (2.2;5.1) years, respectively, incidence of hemocolitis: 62% and 69%, respectively, baseline hemoglobin levels, 85 (77;99) and 102 (90;105) g/L, respectively, and platelet counts, 45 (25;71)x109/L and 53 (29;78) x109/L, respectively, need for dialysis, 79% and 57%, respectively, duration of anuria, 13 (7;16) and 12 (8;15) days, respectively, mortality, 3.4% (aHUS) and 2.9% (on the background of COVID-19), respectively, incidence of Shigatoxin-producing E. coli in faecal samples, 33% and 37%, respectively. The cause of HUS outbreak remained undetermined. Conclusions. Thus, the incidence of HUS in children in Belarus remains one of the highest in Europe. A national algorithm should be developed to detect the source of infection and to indicate and identify the pathogen in STEC infections.Copyright © 2022, Professionalnye Izdaniya. All rights reserved.

Outbreak of Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome in Children in Belarus: Epidemiology, Features of Clinical Course and Laboratory Changes, and Outcomes.

Introduction. Outbreaks of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) have been described in many countries around the world, but no such information is available for Eastern European countries. Purpose. To determine clinical and laboratory differences, and to evaluate morbidity and outcomes during and outside the outbreak of HUS in children in Belarus. Materials and methods. A total o f 80 children diagnosed with HUS in 2021 in Belarus were included in the study;64 of them were admitted to the pediatric dialysis center in Minsk and divided into 2 groups: group 1 (29 children) - outside the HUS outbreak, and group 2 (35 children) - during the outbreak. In addition to standard laboratory tests, 52 children underwent stool analysis for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli by real-time PCR (TaqMan Array Card). Results. The incidence of HUS in 2021 was 5.0/100 000 children <15 years (80 cases) and 10.6/100 000 children <5 years (59 cases). Boys were 52%, children <5 years old were 74%, patients with atypical HUS were 2.5%. Between 27.09.2021 and 29.10.2021 an outbreak of HUS was registered in 45 children, mostly from three country's regions: Minsk city - 17, Minsk region - 16 and Vitebsk region - 11. Patients of groups 1 and 2 did not differ in terms of age, 2.5 (1.6;5.1) and 3.6 (2.2;5.1) years, respectively, incidence of hemocolitis: 62% and 69%, respectively, baseline hemoglobin levels, 85 (77;99) and 102 (90;105) g/L, respectively, and platelet counts, 45 (25;71)x109/L and 53 (29;78) x109/L, respectively, need for dialysis, 79% and 57%, respectively, duration of anuria, 13 (7;16) and 12 (8;15) days, respectively, mortality, 3.4% (aHUS) and 2.9% (on the background of COVID-19), respectively, incidence of Shigatoxin-producing E. coli in faecal samples, 33% and 37%, respectively. The cause of HUS outbreak remained undetermined. Conclusions. Thus, the incidence of HUS in children in Belarus remains one of the highest in Europe. A national algorithm should be developed to detect the source of infection and to indicate and identify the pathogen in STEC infections.Copyright © 2022, Professionalnye Izdaniya. All rights reserved.

Microbiological Quality of Ready-to-Eat Salad Products Collected from Retail and Catering Settings in England during 2020 to 2021.

ABSTRACT: Salad and other fresh produce were collected in England from retail and catering businesses during 2020 to 2021 and were tested for Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Listeria, Bacillus cereus, and E. coli. Of the 604 samples collected, 57% were from retail settings and 43% were from catering settings; 61% were either salad leaves or salad leaves mixed with other products. Equal numbers of samples were prepacked or loose, and 50% were refrigerated at the time of sampling. Combining results for all microbiological parameters, 84% were interpreted as satisfactory, 12% were interpreted as borderline, and 4% were interpreted as unsatisfactory. One sample (prepacked leaves, cucumber, and tomato from a caterer) was categorized as unacceptable and potentially injurious because of detection of STEC O76; no STEC from human infections in the United Kingdom matched this isolate. No Salmonella enterica was detected, but Listeria monocytogenes was recovered from 11 samples: 1 at 20 CFU/g and the remainder at <20 CFU/g. B. cereus was detected at borderline levels (103 to ≤105 CFU/g) in 9% of samples and at an unsatisfactory level (>105 CFU/g) in one sample. E. coli was detected in 3% of samples at borderline levels (20 to ≤102 CFU/g) and in 4% at unsatisfactory levels (>102 CFU/g). There was a significant association between detection of L. monocytogenes and borderline or unsatisfactory levels of E. coli. There were no specific risk profiles associated with products with the higher levels of B. cereus, STEC, or Listeria, but elevated levels of E. coli were predominantly confined to loose products from the United Kingdom collected from caterers in summer or autumn 2021 and may have resulted from relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions. Among the L. monocytogenes isolates, only one matched those from human cases and was recovered from a prepacked mixed salad from a catering business in 2021. This isolate was the same strain as that responsible for a multicountry outbreak (2015 to 2018) associated with Hungarian-produced frozen sweet corn; no link to the outbreak food chain was established.

SARS-CoV-2 and Emerging Foodborne Pathogens: Intriguing Commonalities and Obvious Differences.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in tremendous human and economic losses around the globe. The pandemic is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a virus that is closely related to SARS-CoV and other human and animal coronaviruses. Although foodborne diseases are rarely of pandemic proportions, some of the causative agents emerge in a manner remarkably similar to what was observed recently with SARS-CoV-2. For example, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), the most common cause of hemolytic uremic syndrome, shares evolution, pathogenesis, and immune evasion similarities with SARS-CoV-2. Both agents evolved over time in animal hosts, and during infection, they bind to specific receptors on the host cell's membrane and develop host adaptation mechanisms. Mechanisms such as point mutations and gene loss/genetic acquisition are the main driving forces for the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and STEC. Both pathogens affect multiple body organs, and the resulting diseases are not completely cured with non-vaccine therapeutics. However, SARS-CoV-2 and STEC obviously differ in the nature of the infectious agent (i.e., virus vs. bacterium), disease epidemiological details (e.g., transmission vehicle and symptoms onset time), and disease severity. SARS-CoV-2 triggered a global pandemic while STEC led to limited, but sometimes serious, disease outbreaks. The current review compares several key aspects of these two pathogenic agents, including the underlying mechanisms of emergence, the driving forces for evolution, pathogenic mechanisms, and the host immune responses. We ask what can be learned from the emergence of both infectious agents in order to alleviate future outbreaks or pandemics.

ATYPICAL HAEMOLYTIC UREMIC SYNDROME ASSOCIATED WITH COVID-19: CASE REPORT

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Renal manifestations are common in hospitalized patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We report here the case of a patient with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection with the clinical picture of atypical haemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS). METHOD: Case report RESULTS: Our case is a 31-year-old man with a nasopharyngeal swab with real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for SARS-CoV-2 positive, who was hospitalized in the Clinic of Infectious Diseases. His medical history had a respiratory illness of 7-day evolution characterized by cough, fever, dyspnoea, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and non-bloody diarrhoea, and decreased urine output with dark colour urine. The chest computed tomography (CT) scan showed few rounded ground-glass opacities. Laboratory tests at admission revealed the following: (i) acute kidney injury stage 3 with a serum creatinine of 3.85 mg/dL (basal value 0.9 mg/dL);serum urea 221 mg/dL. His urinary volume in the first 24 h of hospitalization was 800 mL. (ii) Severe haemolytic anaemia with haemoglobin (Hgb) level of 3.7 g/dL, and peripheral smear showing large number of schistocytes, haptoglobin <10 mg/dL and indirect bilirubin 9.7 mg/dL, direct coombs testing was negative;reticulocyte count 8.9%. (iii) Severe thrombocytopaenia with platelet count of 25 000/μL, prothrombin time 45%, international normalized ratio 1.7, D-dimer 1082 ng/dL and fibrinogen 880 mg/dL. Increased blood levels of enzymes and inflammatory markers were present: lactate dehydrogenase 1867 U/L and protein C reactive 9.1 mg/dL. Electrolyte disturbances characterized by hyperkalaemia, hyperphosphatemia, hypocalcaemia and severe metabolic acidosis. Dynamic changes of laboratory data are presented in Table 1. The usual liver panel tests, alkaline phosphatase, γ -glutamyl transferase and albuminemia were normal. Toxic hepatitis was excluded. Hepatobiliary and spleen imaging (ultrasonography) was normal. ELISA serologic tests for HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C virus and cytomegalovirus were negative. Serological and virological tests for hepatitis A, B, C, HIV and CMV were negative. Stool was negative for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC). The results of antinuclear antibodies and anti-smooth-muscle antibodies were negative, C3 serum level was mildly depressed (82 mg/dL;normal range 88- 201 mg/dL) and C4 serum level was normal (20 mg/dL;normal range 10-44 mg/dL). ADAMTS13 activity was 90% on day 10. He was treated with broad spectrum antibiotics, intravenous dexamethasone and supportive therapy. One week from admission, renal function recovered, and 1 week after intravascular haemolysis and thrombocytopaenia recovered. The patient was hospitalized for 21 days. CONCLUSION: Close monitoring and early intervention can help for a better outcome of SARS-CoV-2 patients complicated with aHUS.

EFSA and ECDC publishes EU One Health 2020 zoonoses report

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have published the EU One Health 2020 Zoonoses Report. Campylobacteriosis was the most reported zoonosis in the EU in 2020, with 120,946 cases compared to more than 220,000 the previous year. This was followed by salmonellosis, which affected 52,702 people, compared to 88,000 in 2019. The number of reported foodborne outbreaks fell by 47%, with the report acknowledging the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the drop in reported zoonotic diseases in humans. The next most commonly reported diseases were yersiniosis, with 5,668 cases, and infections caused by Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, with 4,446 cases. Listeriosis was the fifth most reported zoonosis, mainly affecting people over the age of 64. Listeriosis and West Nile virus (WNV) infections were the diseases with the highest case fatality and hospitalisation rates, with most locally acquired human infections of WNV reported in Greece, Spain and Italy. The report also monitors foodborne outbreaks in the EU, events during which at least two people contract the same illness from the same contaminated food. A total of 3,086 foodborne outbreaks were reported in 2020, with Salmonella remaining the most frequently detected agent, causing around 23% of outbreaks. The most common sources of salmonellosis outbreaks were eggs, egg products and pig meat. The report also includes data on Mycobacterium bovis, Mycobacterium caprae, Brucella, Trichinella, Echinococcus, Toxoplasma gondii, rabies, Q fever and tularaemia.

The Efficacy and Safety of Fecal Microbiota Transplant for Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection: Current Understanding and Gap Analysis.

The leading risk factor for Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile infection (CDI) is broad-spectrum antibiotics, which lead to low microbial diversity, or dysbiosis. Current therapeutic strategies for CDI are insufficient, as they do not address the key role of the microbiome in preventing C. difficile spore germination into toxin-producing vegetative bacteria, which leads to symptomatic disease. Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) appears to reduce the risk of recurrent CDI through microbiome restoration. However, a wide range of efficacy rates have been reported, and few placebo-controlled trials have been conducted, limiting our understanding of FMT efficacy and safety. We discuss the current knowledge gaps driven by questions around the quality and consistency of clinical trial results, patient selection, diagnostic methodologies, use of suppressive antibiotic therapy, and methods for adverse event reporting. We provide specific recommendations for future trial designs of FMT to provide improved quality of the clinical evidence to better inform treatment guidelines.