I thank Ghenghesh and colleagues for their interest and comments on the paper ‘Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157: a survey of dairy cattle in Tripoli, Libya’ (Citation1). The Libyan data presented by Ghenghesh et al. in the 1990s were based on the analysis of stool specimens fromFootnote pediatric patients aged between only a few days to 3 years, admitted to one hospital and involving different enteric organisms (Citation2, Citation3). This study design limits the ability to make broad conclusions on the prevalence of E. coli O157 throughout all of Libya. A recent limited study detected E. coli O157 in 0.7% of children presented with diarrheal illness to a local hospital in Libya (Citation4). Thus, well-designed epidemiological studies are needed to estimate the burden of E. coli O157 in Libya.
Department of Microbiology and Parasitology
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Tripoli University, Tripoli, Libya
Email: [email protected]
Conflict of interest and funding
The author declare no relationship (commercial or otherwise) that may constitute a dual or conflicting interest.
Notes
This paper is a brief additional response to the Letter-to-the-Editor by Khalifa Sifaw Ghenghesh and Khaled Tawil.
References
- Ahmed MO, Abouzeed YM. Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157: a survey of dairy cattle in Tripoli, Libya. Libyan J Med. 2014; 9: 24409. http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/ljm.v9.24409 [PubMed Abstract].
- Ghenghesh KS, Ben-Taher S, Abeid S, Tawil A. Escherichia coli O157:H7 in children diarrhoea in Libya (P908). Clin Microbiol Infect. 1997; 3(Suppl 2): 221.
- Ghenghesh KS, Abeid SS, Bara F, Bukris B. Aetiology of childhood diarrhoea in Tripoli-Libya. Jamahiriya Med J. 2001; 1: 23–9.
- Shaban R. Abdulsalam Bagar. Prevalence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 causing children diarrhea in Sirte, Libya. IDWeek Advance Science, Improving Care. 2013; 1293. Available from: https://idsa.confex.com/idsa/2013/webprogram/Paper41774.html.