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From August 1996 to May 1997, six verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) strains were isolated from stool specimens of adults suffering from hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). All the isolates were stx2 positive and belonged to different serotypes: O6:H4, O91:H10, O91:H21, O rough:H16, OX3:H-, and O nontypeable: H-. The enterohemolysin (Ehly)-encoding genes were detected in two isolates, and none of the isolates harbors the intimin (Eae)-encoding gene. These findings suggest that stx2-positive non-O157:H7 VTEC is a major cause of HUS in adults and that several sources of pathogens are responsible for local endemic infections.
Bonnet et al. (Mon,) studied this question.