Strategies to reduce person-to-person transmission during widespread Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak .

Using data from the 2006 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in 2006 in the United States associated with contaminated spinach, Seto et al developed a model to study secondary person-to-person transmission which showed that secondary transmission was similar to that in previous E. coli outbreaks (˜12%). The model suggests that even a modestly effective hygiene promotion strategy to interrupt secondary transmission (prevention of only 2-3% of secondary illnesses) could result in a reduction of ˜5-11% of symptomatic cases. Emerging Infectious Diseases 2007;13:861 -866.