[The incidence of E. coli O157H7 strains in causing hemorrhagic enterocolitis].

The authors describe the evidencing of the O157H7 E. coli serotype--an enterohaemorrhagic strain of E. coli--for the first time in our country. This germ is incriminated in haemorrhagic enteritis of children and adults, accompanied or not by an uremic haemolytic syndrome. A total of 717 strains were investigated, obtained from cases of haemorrhagic enteritis (283), nonhemorrhagic enteritis (174), food poisoning (27), and a control lot of subjects without signs of enteritis (233). Identification of the strains was done with a screening method (McConkey) with D-sorbitol in place of lactose, and with anti-O157, and anti-H7 sera. The results obtained have indicated a total of 37 positive strains in haemorrhagic enteritis (69.8%), 12 strains in nonhemorrhagic enteritis (22.65%), and 4 strains in food poisoning (7.55%). No strain was isolated from the control group. The percentage of isolated O157H7 E. coli strains in our county is of 7.55% and this contributes to additional knowledge in the definition of the still unknown etiology of diarrhoeic disease in our country.