All blood, No stool: enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection

ABSTRACT

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli serotype O157H7 is a pathotype of diarrheagenic E. coli that produces one or more Shiga toxins, forms a characteristic histopathology described as attaching and effacing lesions, and possesses the large virulence plasmid pO157. The bacterium is recognized worldwide, especially in developed countries, as an emerging food-borne bacterial pathogen, which causes disease in humans and in some animals. Healthy cattle are the principal and natural reservoir of E. coli O157H7, and most disease outbreaks are, therefore, due to consumption of fecally contaminated bovine foods or dairy products. In this review, we provide a general overview of E. coli O157H7 infection, especially focusing on the bacterial characteristics rather than on the host responses during infection.