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Perishable foodstuffs: Escherichia coli producing shigatoxins.

Denrées périssables : les Escherichia coli producteurs de shigatoxines.

Author(s) : VERNOZY-ROZAND C.

Type of article: Article

Summary

Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are now recognised as important human pathogens. Illness caused by STEC infection can range from self-limited, watery diarrhea to life-threatening manifestations such as hemorrhagic colitis and heamolytic uremic syndrome. The mode of transmission is primarily through food (e.g. undercooked minced beef products, especially beef burgers, raw cow's milk and cheese, contaminated pasteurised milk and untreated water). Studies indicate that cattle are an important reservoir of the organism. Public health measures to control STEC infection are broadly similar to the measures needed to control other gastro-intestinal infections. Because of the potential low infection dose, Laboratory diagnosis of O157 STEC in food samples has been developed over recent years with the use of liquid enrichment and the development of methods such as immunomagnetic separation STEC of other serogroups than O157: H7 have no reliable biochemical, serological or morphological characteristics (other than Shigatoxin production itself) to distinguish them from commensal E. coli. Thus to detect STEC other than O157: H7 and phenotypic variants of E. coli O157 in food, we have to use methods for detection of verocytotoxin production and stx genes.

Details

  • Original title: Denrées périssables : les Escherichia coli producteurs de shigatoxines.
  • Record ID : 2008-1667
  • Languages: French
  • Source: Revue générale du Froid & du Conditionnement d'air - n. 1081
  • Publication date: 2008/03

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