AUTHOR=Kim Jun-Seob , Lee Moo-Seung , Kim Ji Hyung 

TITLE=Recent Updates on Outbreaks of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli and Its Potential Reservoirs

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2020

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2020.00273

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2020.00273

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=Following infection with certain strains of Shiga toxin-producing bacteria, particularly Shigella dysenteriae serotype 1 and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC), patients are at elevated risk for developing life-threatening extraintestinal complications such as acute renal failure. Hence, these bacteria represent a public health concern in both developed and developing countries. Shiga toxins (Stxs) expressed by EHEC are highly cytotoxic class II ribosome-inactivating proteins and primary virulence factors responsible for major clinical signs of Stx-mediated pathogenesis, including bloody diarrhea, hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and neurological complications. Ruminant animals are thought to serve as critical environmental reservoirs of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), but other emerging or arising reservoirs of the toxin-producing bacteria have been overlooked. Here, we summarize recent findings about reservoirs of STEC and review outbreaks of these bacteria both within and outside the United States. A better understanding of environmental transmission to humans will facilitate the development of novel strategies for preventing zoonotic EHEC infection.