Supplementary studies on the multiplication of Escherichia coli O-111 B4 in the intestinal tract of adult volunteers and its relation to manifestation of coli enteritis.

In our previous reports1) on an experiment in feeding adult volunteers with Escherichia coli O-111 B4 by means of the Miller Abbott double lumen tube, it was indicated that whether or not Escherichia coli O-111 B4 produces similar illness to acute bacterial food poisoning may depend upon the multiplication of these organisms in the small intestine of volunteers who have ingested certain amounts of the organisms. The studies to be reported in this paper start from the following assumption: The volunteers may not develop symptoms, even though the Escherichia coli O-111 B4 organisms are found in fecal specimens in large proportion over a