Escherichia coli and the Hemolytic–Uremic Syndrome

To the Editor: The report by Tarr et al. (Aug. 29 issue) 1 and the accompanying editorial 2 make clear the importance of Shiga-toxin–producing Escherichia coli belonging to serotypes other than O157:H7. However, in their editorial Drs. Rondeau and Peraldi suggest that “other means of detecting Shiga toxin . . . will be required to identify . . . other E. coli serotypes.” 2 There are assays approved by the Food and Drug Administration for detecting Shiga-toxin–producing E. coli in stool samples, and these assays are already being used in the United States to detect these pathogens, including Shiga-toxin–producing O103 serotypes. We have . . .