Public health advice on prevention of diarrhoeal illness with special focus on Shiga toxin - producing Escherichia coli (STEC), also called verotoxin - producing E. coli (VTEC) or enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC)

Updated joint statement by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

On 22 May 2011, Germany reported a significant increase in the number of patients with haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and bloody diarrhoea caused by Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). Since 2 May, over 400 HUS cases and over 1000 STEC cases been reported in Germany. Additional HUS and STEC cases linked to the outbreak have been reported in several other EU/EEA countries; Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom. While HUS cases are usually observed in children under 5 years of age, over 80% are adults in this outbreak, with a clear predominance of women (about 68%). The source of the outbreak has not yet been confirmed and intensive investigations are ongoing. German health authorities suspect that contaminated food is the vehicle of the outbreak, with current investigations focusing on the consumption of raw tomatoes, fresh cucumbers and lettuce. In the specific case of the present outbreak of STEC in Germany, the precautionary recommendation was made by the Federal Institute for Risk AssessmentA specialised field of applied science that involves reviewing scientific data and studies in order to evaluate risks associated with certain hazards. It involves four steps: hazard identification, hazard characterisation, exposure assessment and risk characterisation to avoid consumption of raw vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce in the northern part of Germany until the source of the outbreak has been identified.

What do the terms STEC, VTEC and EHEC mean?