Infection with Escherichia coli O157:H7 causes an estimated 20,000 cases of diarrhea in the United States each year. Although E. coli O157:H7 can be isolated using commercially available media, many clinical laboratories do not routinely test stool samples for the organism. In 1993, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists recommended that clinical laboratories begin culturing all b...

The influence of nutrients in wastewater from dairy lagoons on the survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 was monitored. Initially, the survival of E. coli O157:H7 in wastewater from which the competing native organisms had been removed by filter sterilization or autoclaving was compared with that in wastewater from which competing organisms had not been removed. Numbers of E. coli O157:H7 or E. ...

Highly pathogenic enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157 cause a spectrum of clinical signs that include diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, and hemolytic uremic syndrome. The current evolutionary model of EHEC O157:H7/H(-) consists of a stepwise evolution scenario proceeding from O55:H7 to a node (hypothetical intermediate) that then branches into sorbitol-fermenting (SF) O157:H(-) and non-SF (...

Although the main reservoirs for pathogenic Escherichia coli O157:H7 are cattle and the cattle environment, factors that affect its tenure in the bovine host and its survival outside humans and cattle have not been well studied. It is also not understood what physiological properties, if any, distinguish these pathogens from commensal counterparts that live as normal members of the human and bo...

AIMS To determine if exogenous melatonin (MEL) influences growth of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in pure culture and if MEL affects faecal shedding patterns of E. coli O157:H7 or total leucocyte counts in sheep. METHODS AND RESULTS Two strains of E. coli O157:H7 were cultured in the presence of varying concentrations of MEL. Maximal specific growth rates of E.coli O157:H7 strains were not affecte...

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is known to cause serious diseases including hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome. A gold nanoparticle lateral flow immunoassay (Au-LFIA) was used to detect Escherichia coli O157:H7 in ground pork samples. False-positive results were detected using Au-LFIA; a Citrobacterfreundii strain was isolated from the ground pork samples and identified by using CHROma...

In order to determine the prevalence and distribution of the human pathogen, Escherichia coli O157:H7, in free-ranging deer, hunters were asked to collect and submit fecal samples from deer harvested during a regular firearm season (14-22 November 1998). Prior to the season, 47% of the hunters with permits in the southeastern Nebraska (USA) study area indicated a willingness to participate in t...

This paper presents a functional nanoparticle-enhanced enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (FNP-ELISA) for detection of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7. Immunomagnetic nanoparticles (IMMPs) conjugated with monoclonal anti-O157:H7 antibody were used to capture E. coli O157:H7. Beacon gold nanoparticles (B-GNPs) coated with polyclonal anti-O157:H7 and biotin single-stranded DNA (B...

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli strains, occasionally isolated from food, are of public health importance. Here, we report on the 5.30-Mbp draft genome sequence of E. coli O157:H7 EDL931 (strain ATCC 35150) and the 5.32-Mbp draft genome sequence of a nalidixic acid-resistant mutant derivative used as a distinguishable control strain in food-testing laboratories.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 carries a chromosomal msbB1 and a plasmid-encoded msbB2 gene. We characterized msbB2 function as a homologue of msbB1 by examination of wild-type organisms and mutant strains that lacked functional msbB1, msbB2, and both msbB1 and msbB2. The msbB double-mutant strain generated pentaacyl lipid A, while the single-mutant strains synthesized hexaacyl lipid A. Complementati...