STEC infection - Annual Epidemiological Report for 2022

For 2022, 29 European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries reported 8 565 confirmed cases of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infection. The overall EU/EEA notification rate was 2.5 cases per 100 000 population, which exceeded the prepandemic level and represented a 25% increase compared to the notification rate in 2021.

The STEC notification rate was highest in children under five years of age with 12.1 cases per 100 000 population for males and 11.3 cases per 100 000 population for females.

The confirmed haemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) cases increased in 2022 after a stable trend of reported cases before and during the pandemic years in the EU/EEA. Among the 568 HUS cases reported, the majority were in the youngest age groups, from 0–4 years (60%) to 5–14 years (24%). However, the majority of the deceased cases with HUS were over 60 years old.