E. Coli

definition

Escherichia coli, first discovered by Theodor Escherich in 1885, is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, motile, rod-shaped bacterium common in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms to which it adheres using adhesion molecules like intimin. Most strains are harmless, part of the normal gut microbiota. E. coli is widely used in biotechnology due to its ease of cultivation and genetic modification.

The so-called Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is a wide group of zoonotic diarrheogenic pathotypes producers of Shiga toxins Stx1 and/or Stx2 and their variants, responsible for haemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Ruminants are the natural reservoir of STEC. Humans typically become infected through consumption of raw or undercooked ground meat products, raw milk, and faecal contamination of vegetables and water.