What is it about?
E. coli is the most common bacteria to cause bloodstream infections (BSI). The study compares the incidence rate of E. coli BSI during the 4 warmest months to the rest of the year. It also examined the impact of average monthly temperature on incidence rate of E. coli BSI.
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Why is it important?
Interventions targeting prevention of E. coli (and other gram-negative) infections should take into account and adjust for this seasonality in incidence rates. Differences in average temperature may contribute to variations in incidence rates of E. coli bloodstream infections across the globe. Moreover, what will be the impact of climate change on incidence rates of E. coli infections?
Perspectives
Following the landmark study by Anderson DJ and colleagues that reported seasonal variation in Klebsiella pneumonia bloodstream infections (BSI) in 4 continents [J Infect Dis 2008;197:752–756], my mentor at the time, Dr. Larry Baddour, suggested to look at this in E. coli since we were doing another study on E. coli BSI. It was a great idea by a brilliant mentor, as usual. This was the first report of seasonal variation in E. coli BSI. Since then, several other studies have demonstrated the same findings in various parts of the world. Other studies have demonstrated seasonality in urinary tract infections as well. This is not surprising given that the majority of patients with E. coli and K. pneumonia BSI have a urinary source of infection.
Prof. Majdi Al-Hasan
University of South Carolina School of Medicine
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Seasonal variation in Escherichia coli bloodstream infection: a population-based study, Clinical Microbiology and Infection, October 2009, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-0691.2009.02877.x.
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