Looking for tips to find icebergs - surveillance of haemolytic uraemic syndrome to detect outbreaks of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infection

In a recent article, De Schrijver et al. described an outbreak of Verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli, syn. Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), linked to the consumption of ice cream produced at a farm in the province of Antwerp, Belgium. Interestingly, the outbreak was identified through the time-clustering of patients who had developed haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) and from whom STEC O145 was isolated.