Summary

Verocytotoxin-producing E.coli (VTEC/STEC) confirmed by ERL in 2015. There were 343 STEC confirmed in 2015 (183 (53.4%) E. coli O157), compared with 215 (89.3% E. coli O157) and 193 (88.1% E. coli O157), in 2013 and 2014, respectively. There was a significant increase in the number of E. coli non-O157 STEC confirmed this year, mostly in the Auckland region (from 2 cases in 2014 to 110 cases in 2015). This is most likely linked to the introduction of molecular testing for enteric pathogens in some of the diagnostic laboratories in the region.