Age-specific frequencies of antibodies to Escherichia coli verocytotoxins (Shiga toxins) 1 and 2 among urban and rural populations in southern Ontario.

In 173 urban residents and 232 rural dairy-farm residents (age range, 0-70 years) who were stratified for age, the frequency of antiverocytotoxin 2 antibodies (VT2 Abs) (frequency in urban residents, 46%; frequency in rural residents, 65%) was significantly higher than that of antiverocytotoxin 1 antibodies (VT1 Abs) (frequency in urban residents, 12%; frequency in rural residents, 39%) (P< or =.001). The frequency of VT2 Abs (93%) was also significantly higher than that of VT1 Abs (50%) in 14 patients with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) associated with verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) strains that expressed both toxins. In urban residents, the frequency of both antibodies tended to decrease between the first and the second decades of life, and it then increased until the fifth decade of life, before, in the case of VT2 Abs, decreasing again. This pattern, which inversely reflects the age-related incidence of HUS, is consistent with a role for antiverocytotoxin antibodies in protective immunity. In dairy-farm residents, peak frequencies of antibodies to both toxins occurred during the first decade of life and remained elevated for 3 decades before decreasing, a pattern consistent with frequent exposure to bovine VTEC from an early age.