Open-source genomic analysis of Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli O104:H4.

Rohde, Holger; Qin, Junjie; Cui, Yujun; Li, Dongfang; Loman, Nicholas J; Hentschke, Moritz; Chen, Wentong; Pu, Fei et al. · N Engl J Med · 2011

case_report · Level V

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Abstract

An outbreak caused by Shiga-toxin–producing Escherichia coli O104:H4 occurred in Germany in May and June of 2011, with more than 3000 persons infected. Here, we report a cluster of cases associated with a single family and describe an open-source genomic analysis of an isolate from one member of the family. This analysis involved the use of rapid, bench-top DNA sequencing technology, open-source data release, and prompt crowd-sourced analyses. In less than a week, these studies revealed that the outbreak strain belonged to an enteroaggregative E. coli lineage that had acquired genes for Shiga toxin 2 and for antibiotic resistance.

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