Factors influencing the development of hemolytic uremic syndrome caused by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli infection: from a questionnaire survey to in vitro experiment.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is known as an etiological agent of not only hemorrhagic colitis, but also hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and other serious complications. In this paper, a summary of the results, especially in relation to possible factors involving HUS complication, of a questionnaire survey conducted on the occasion of the massive EHEC outbreak in Sakai city in 1996, is presented. A brief review of the virulence factors and pathogenic mechanism involved in the development of HUS in EHEC infection is also described.