Italy records almost 70 HUS cases in 12 months

Almost 70 cases of a serious condition that develops after an E. coli infection have been reported in the past year in Italy.

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a severe complication associated with E. coli infections that causes kidney failure.

Italian data shows that between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024, 68 cases of HUS were recorded.

The Italian Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome Registry is operated by the Italian Society of Pediatric Nephrology and the National Institute of Health (ISS). 

Patients came from 18 regions, two cases lived abroad, while for six sick people symptoms started after returning from a trip overseas.

All but one of the 68 cases were under the age of 15. The other sick person was in the 15 to 24 year old age group. The majority of cases were recorded in Puglia (with nine) as well as Campania and Veneto with seven each.

E. coli O26 dominates
The median age of patients at the time of clinical onset of the disease, for cases detected from July 2023 to June 2024, was 3 years old.

In the first half of 2024, the number of HUS cases reported to the Italian HUS Registry was lower than expected. The decrease was particularly noticeable in February and March, when only one case was reported. However, in July and August 2023 recorded cases were higher than in previous years.

In 53 STEC-positive patients, information on the serogroup could be obtained. Among these, cases with infection associated with the so-called top-5 STEC serogroups O26, O157, O111, O145, and O103 were the majority, representing 49 HUS cases. In one case there was evidence of multiple infection with STEC O26 and O103.

In the past 12 months, E. coli O26 represented 27 of the identified STEC serogroups. This appears to be in line with the European epidemiological situation where STEC O26 dominates among HUS cases associated with STEC infection. E. coli O157 was in second place followed by E. coli O145.

Between July 2022 and June 2023, 73 cases of HUS were recorded from 16 regions in Italy, including 70 in people younger than 15 years old.

The latest figures from France show 253 HUS cases in 2022. This was the most since surveillance began in 1996. In 2021, 128 cases were reported by Santé publique France.

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