National outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O145:H28 associated with pre-packed sandwiches, United Kingdom, May-June 2024

Orlagh Quinn; Yanshi; Grace King; Ann Hoban; Clare Sawyer; Amy Douglas; Anaïs Painset; Andre Charlett; Andrew Nelson; Carys Rees; Chloe Byers; Christopher Williams; Colin Brown; Kitty Mohan; Claire Brown; Claire Jenkins; Claire Neill; Genna Leckenby; Lesley Larkin; Lesley Allison; Oluwakemi Olufon; Sema Nickbakhsh; Trish Mannes; Thomas Inns; Sooria Balasegaram

doi:10.1017/S0950268824001729

National outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O145:H28 associated with pre-packed sandwiches, United Kingdom, May-June 2024

Orlagh Quinn, Yanshi^*, Grace King, Ann Hoban, Clare Sawyer, Amy Douglas, Anaïs Painset, Andre Charlett, Andrew Nelson, Carys Rees, Chloe Byers, Christopher Williams, Colin Brown, Kitty Mohan, Claire Brown, Claire Jenkins, Claire Neill, Genna Leckenby, Lesley Larkin, Lesley AllisonOluwakemi Olufon, Sema Nickbakhsh, Trish Mannes, Thomas Inns, Sooria Balasegaram

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is a group of bacteria that causes gastrointestinal illness and occasionally causes large foodborne outbreaks. It represents a major public health concern due to its ability to cause severe illness which can sometimes be fatal. This study was undertaken as part of a rapid investigation into a national foodborne outbreak of STEC O145. On 22 May 2024, United Kingdom (UK) public health agencies and laboratories identified an increase in stool specimens submissions and patients testing positive for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). Whole genome sequencing (WGS) identified serotype O145:H28 stx2a/eae belonging to the same five single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) single linkage cluster as the causative agent. By 3 July 2024, 288 cases had been linked to the cluster. Most cases were adults (87%) and females (57%), 49% were hospitalized with a further 10% attending emergency care. Descriptive epidemiology and analytical studies were conducted which identified consumption of nationally distributed pre-packed sandwiches as a common food exposure. The implicated food business operators voluntarily recalled ready-to-eat sandwiches and wraps containing lettuce on 14 June 2024.

Original language	English
Article number	e179
Journal	Epidemiology and Infection
Volume	152
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268824001729
Publication status	Published - 27 Dec 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press.

Keywords

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli
United Kingdom
epidemiology
outbreaks
pre-packaged sandwiches
surveillance

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1017/S0950268824001729

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Quinn, O., Yanshi, King, G., Hoban, A., Sawyer, C., Douglas, A., Painset, A., Charlett, A., Nelson, A., Rees, C., Byers, C., Williams, C., Brown, C., Mohan, K., Brown, C., Jenkins, C., Neill, C., Leckenby, G., Larkin, L., ... Balasegaram, S. (2024). National outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O145:H28 associated with pre-packed sandwiches, United Kingdom, May-June 2024. Epidemiology and Infection, 152, Article e179. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268824001729

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title = "National outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O145:H28 associated with pre-packed sandwiches, United Kingdom, May-June 2024",

abstract = "Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is a group of bacteria that causes gastrointestinal illness and occasionally causes large foodborne outbreaks. It represents a major public health concern due to its ability to cause severe illness which can sometimes be fatal. This study was undertaken as part of a rapid investigation into a national foodborne outbreak of STEC O145. On 22 May 2024, United Kingdom (UK) public health agencies and laboratories identified an increase in stool specimens submissions and patients testing positive for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). Whole genome sequencing (WGS) identified serotype O145:H28 stx2a/eae belonging to the same five single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) single linkage cluster as the causative agent. By 3 July 2024, 288 cases had been linked to the cluster. Most cases were adults (87\%) and females (57\%), 49\% were hospitalized with a further 10\% attending emergency care. Descriptive epidemiology and analytical studies were conducted which identified consumption of nationally distributed pre-packed sandwiches as a common food exposure. The implicated food business operators voluntarily recalled ready-to-eat sandwiches and wraps containing lettuce on 14 June 2024.",

keywords = "Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, United Kingdom, epidemiology, outbreaks, pre-packaged sandwiches, surveillance",

author = "Orlagh Quinn and Yanshi and Grace King and Ann Hoban and Clare Sawyer and Amy Douglas and Ana{\"i}s Painset and Andre Charlett and Andrew Nelson and Carys Rees and Chloe Byers and Christopher Williams and Colin Brown and Kitty Mohan and Claire Brown and Claire Jenkins and Claire Neill and Genna Leckenby and Lesley Larkin and Lesley Allison and Oluwakemi Olufon and Sema Nickbakhsh and Trish Mannes and Thomas Inns and Sooria Balasegaram",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press.",

year = "2024",

month = dec,

day = "27",

doi = "10.1017/S0950268824001729",

language = "English",

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Quinn, O, Yanshi, King, G, Hoban, A, Sawyer, C, Douglas, A, Painset, A , Charlett, A, Nelson, A, Rees, C, Byers, C, Williams, C, Brown, C, Mohan, K, Brown, C, Jenkins, C, Neill, C, Leckenby, G, Larkin, L, Allison, L, Olufon, O, Nickbakhsh, S, Mannes, T, Inns, T & Balasegaram, S 2024, 'National outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O145:H28 associated with pre-packed sandwiches, United Kingdom, May-June 2024', Epidemiology and Infection, vol. 152, e179. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268824001729

TY - JOUR

T1 - National outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O145:H28 associated with pre-packed sandwiches, United Kingdom, May-June 2024

AU - Quinn, Orlagh

AU - Yanshi,

AU - King, Grace

AU - Hoban, Ann

AU - Sawyer, Clare

AU - Douglas, Amy

AU - Painset, Anaïs

AU - Charlett, Andre

AU - Nelson, Andrew

AU - Rees, Carys

AU - Byers, Chloe

AU - Williams, Christopher

AU - Brown, Colin

AU - Mohan, Kitty

AU - Brown, Claire

AU - Jenkins, Claire

AU - Neill, Claire

AU - Leckenby, Genna

AU - Larkin, Lesley

AU - Allison, Lesley

AU - Olufon, Oluwakemi

AU - Nickbakhsh, Sema

AU - Mannes, Trish

AU - Inns, Thomas

AU - Balasegaram, Sooria

PY - 2024/12/27

Y1 - 2024/12/27

N2 - Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is a group of bacteria that causes gastrointestinal illness and occasionally causes large foodborne outbreaks. It represents a major public health concern due to its ability to cause severe illness which can sometimes be fatal. This study was undertaken as part of a rapid investigation into a national foodborne outbreak of STEC O145. On 22 May 2024, United Kingdom (UK) public health agencies and laboratories identified an increase in stool specimens submissions and patients testing positive for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). Whole genome sequencing (WGS) identified serotype O145:H28 stx2a/eae belonging to the same five single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) single linkage cluster as the causative agent. By 3 July 2024, 288 cases had been linked to the cluster. Most cases were adults (87%) and females (57%), 49% were hospitalized with a further 10% attending emergency care. Descriptive epidemiology and analytical studies were conducted which identified consumption of nationally distributed pre-packed sandwiches as a common food exposure. The implicated food business operators voluntarily recalled ready-to-eat sandwiches and wraps containing lettuce on 14 June 2024.

AB - Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is a group of bacteria that causes gastrointestinal illness and occasionally causes large foodborne outbreaks. It represents a major public health concern due to its ability to cause severe illness which can sometimes be fatal. This study was undertaken as part of a rapid investigation into a national foodborne outbreak of STEC O145. On 22 May 2024, United Kingdom (UK) public health agencies and laboratories identified an increase in stool specimens submissions and patients testing positive for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). Whole genome sequencing (WGS) identified serotype O145:H28 stx2a/eae belonging to the same five single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) single linkage cluster as the causative agent. By 3 July 2024, 288 cases had been linked to the cluster. Most cases were adults (87%) and females (57%), 49% were hospitalized with a further 10% attending emergency care. Descriptive epidemiology and analytical studies were conducted which identified consumption of nationally distributed pre-packed sandwiches as a common food exposure. The implicated food business operators voluntarily recalled ready-to-eat sandwiches and wraps containing lettuce on 14 June 2024.

KW - Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli

KW - United Kingdom

KW - epidemiology

KW - outbreaks

KW - pre-packaged sandwiches

KW - surveillance

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U2 - 10.1017/S0950268824001729

DO - 10.1017/S0950268824001729

M3 - Article

C2 - 39725659

AN - SCOPUS:85213916807

SN - 0950-2688

VL - 152

JO - Epidemiology and Infection

JF - Epidemiology and Infection

M1 - e179

ER -

National outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O145:H28 associated with pre-packed sandwiches, United Kingdom, May-June 2024

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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