据美国食品安全新闻网消息，2011年肆虐欧美地区的大肠杆菌疫情历史罕见，导致约4000人患病，50人死亡。经过专家调查，大肠杆菌O104:H4是疫情的致病菌株。在此之前，仅在韩国报道了一例由该菌株引起的疫情。
部分原文报道如下：
In May 2011, a virtually unknown strain of E. coli, known as O104:H4, made worldwide headlines when an outbreak in Germany sickened approximately 4,000 people and killed 50, including one American. This event, linked to fresh sprouts, quickly became the deadliest foodborne illness outbreak in history.
In the days following the first reports of illness, microbiological research laboratories around the globe began pooling resources to coordinate the world's first "open source" analysis of a microbial genome. In turn, this spurred an unprecedented level of focused study by international collaborators that is still going on two years later.
原文链接：<http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/09/e-coli-o104h4-the-next-strain-to-watch/>
18926578588