Molecular Characterization of shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli in Milk

Abstract

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped, flagellated, non sporulating, and facultative anaerobic bacterium which belongs to the Enterobacteriaceae Family. Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is an enteric pathogen that have been liked to outbreak from foodborne and waterborne sources. STEC causes gastrointestinal illnesses ranging from watery and bloody diarrhea to hemorrhagic colitis, in some cases infection can result in the life-threatening, hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). We aimed to study the Laboratory investigation of shiga toxin producing E. coli and its molecular characterization in raw milk samples. The study included 158 raw milk samples collected randomly from different governorate in Egypt. samples were subjected to the following: Identification and isolation on specific media, sero-typing, PCR and sequencing.