DNA Analysis of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli O169: H41 Isolates from Four Outbreaks after Traveling to Taiwan

Abstract

In July 1996, four outbreaks of gastroenteritis after traveling to Taiwan occurred in Hiroshima, Kochi and Akita Prefectures and Yokohama City and heat-stable enterotoxin (ST)-producing Escherichia coli 0169: H41 was isolated from the feces of patients. Seven E. coli isolates from the four outbreaks were of the same serovar producing ST and showing the same plasmid profiles with 97 kb plasmid DNA, and they were identical in RAPD profiles as well as in PFGE restriction fragment patterns except for 1 Hiroshima strain, suggesting that the four outbreaks were due to common meals served at a restaurant in Taiwan.