Sporadic Shiga Toxin–Producing Escherichia coli–Associated Pediatric Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, France, 2012–2021

Abstract

Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli–associated pediatric hemolytic uremic syndrome (STEC-HUS) remains an important public health risk in France. Cases are primarily sporadic, and geographic heterogeneity has been observed in crude incidence rates. We conducted a retrospective study of 1,255 sporadic pediatric STEC-HUS cases reported during 2012–2021 to describe spatiotemporal dynamics and geographic patterns of higher STEC-HUS risk. Annual case notifications ranged from 109 to 163. Most cases (n = 780 [62%]) were in children 5 annual space-time clusters. The results of this study have numerous implications for outbreak detection and investigation and research perspectives to improve knowledge of environmental risk factors associated with geographic disparities in STEC-HUS in France.

Keywords

• Escherichia coli
• hemolytic uremic syndrome
• Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli
• STEC
• epidemiologic surveillance
• space-time clustering