O80 EHEC and related strains of clonal complex 165 sequencing

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) represent a major world public health problem, as these intestinal pathogens are the first cause of acute renal failure in children. A hybrid pathotype of serogroup O80, which has, in addition to Shiga toxin, an extra-intestinal virulence plasmid (pS88), is currently emerging in France. The recent Europeandiffusion, high potential extra-intestinal pathogenicity, and multiresistance of this hybrid pathotype led us to further characterize theses strains and discover the high genetic plasticity of O80-clonal complex 165, which may represent a major public health concern.