A multiplex real-time PCR (R-PCR) assay was designed and evaluated on the ABI 7700 sequence detection system (TaqMan) to detect enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 in pure cultures, feces, and tissues. Three sets of primers and fluorogenic probes were used for amplification and real-time detection of a 106-bp region of the eae gene encoding EHEC O157:H7-specific intimin, and 150-b...

BACKGROUND Escherichia coli O157:H7 is an enteric pathogen which can be frequently found asymptomatically in ruminant mammals, but can cause diseases from mild diarrhea to hemolytic uremic syndrome in humans. METHODS We developed fluorescent amplification-based specific hybridization (FLASH-PCR) assay to detect the Stx-encoding gene Stx-1 of E. coli O157:H7. RESULT PCR product of 336 bp was...

Two groups of calves were subjected to dietary stress by withholding of food beginning 1 or 14 days after inoculation with 10(10) CFU of Escherichia coli O157:H7. Following treatment, neither group had a significant increase in fecal shedding of E. coli O157:H7. A third group of calves had food withheld for 48 h prior to inoculation with 10(7) CFU of E. coli O157:H7. These calves were more susc...

W e have read with interest the Letter to the Editor by Ahmed and Abouzeed reporting on the important issue of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 (EHEC O157) in dairy cattle in Libya (1). Based on two cited references, the authors state that: ‘‘Surveys of diarrheal stools from children in African nations, including Libya, have detected EHEC O157 in 8 15% of the samples’’. One of the cited ...

To the Editor: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 has become a major meat safety issue worldwide. Cattle, an important reservoir of human infection (1), may not be the only source of this organism (2,3). In a survey of pigs in England (4), non-STEC O157 was isolated from four (0.4%) fecal samples collected (after slaughter) from 1,000 pigs. We found that, although an unlikely...

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...

The isolation and characterization of Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains from 22 out of 174 fecal samples from petting zoo animals representing twenty-two different species (camel, lion, goats, zebra, bear, baboon monkey, Siberian monkey, deer, elk, llama, pony, horses, fox, kangaroo, wolf, porcupine, chickens, tiger, ostrich, hyena, dogs, and wildcats) were investigated. One petting Al-Zawraa zo...

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EHEC O157:H7) causes hemorrhagic colitis and the formation of characteristic attaching and effacing (A/E) lesions in humans. Given the severe sequelae of EHEC O157:H7 infection, it is critical to develop effective vaccines for human use. However, for achieving this goal many hurdles need to be addressed, such as the type or subset of antigens, adjuvan...

This study compared the efficacy of lactoferricin B (LB), peroxyacetic acid (PAA), acidified sodium chlorite (ASC), cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), acetic acid (AA), lactic acid (LA), acidified chlorite (AC) and water when analyzed as dipping solutions for fresh beef carcass tissue (BCT) surfaces for reducing populations of Escherichia coli O157:H7. In this study, CPC reduced E. coli O157:H7 po...