BACKGROUND Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) cause diarrhea-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome (D+ HUS) worldwide, but no systematic study of EHEC as the causative agents of HUS was performed in the Czech Republic. We analyzed stools of all patients with D+ HUS in the Czech Republic between 1998 and 2012 for evidence of EHEC infection. We determined virulence profiles, phenotypes, ant...

A total of 514 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) isolates from diarrheic and healthy cattle in Spain were characterized in this study. PCR showed that 101 (20%) isolates carried stx1 genes, 278 (54%) possessed stx2 genes, and 135 (26%) possessed both stx1 and stx2. Enterohemolysin (ehxA) and intimin (eae) virulence genes were detected in 326 (63%) and in 151 (29%) of the isolates, r...

The kneading treatment of the fresh curd in hot water is a critical control point in the manufacturing of mozzarella. Factors such as the ratio between hot water and curd mass, the rheological properties, and the mixing and kneading activity affect the processing time and the internal temperature of the curd. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of thermal treatments on the fate ...

Phages encoding production of Vero cytotoxins VT1 or VT2 were isolated from strains of Escherichia coli of human and bovine origin. Two human strains of serotype O157: H7 produced both VT1 and VT2 and each carried two separate phages encoding either VT1 or VT2. The phages were morphologically similar to each other and to a VT2 phage previously isolated from a strain of serotype O157: H-; all ha...

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) and enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) organisms are groups of pathogenic strains whose infections are characterized by a typical lesion of enterocyte attachment and effacement. They are involved in enteric diseases both in humans and in animals, and EHEC strains can be responsible for hemolytic uremic syndrome in humans. Previously, it was shown that the ...

One hundred and ten clinical Escherichia coli isolates of serovar O157 (n = 102) and O26 (n = 8) were characterized for the presence of putative virulence genes by PCR. All but one of these isolates contained the eae gene. The EHEC-hly gene could be detected in all E. coli O157 and in 50% of E. coli O26 isolates. Forty-five (40.9%) of the 110 E. coli were positive for both stx(1) and stx(2) gen...

INTRODUCTION Ruminants are regarded as the natural reservoir for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), especially of serogroup O157. MATERIALS AND METHODS During 2011 and 2012, 320 samples (160 faecal samples from the rectum and 160 hide samples from the brisket area) were collected from 160 cattle at slaughter in Northern Italy during warm months (May to October). Cattle were reared...