E. Coli O157 Research Paper

251 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Importance of hand washing

E. coli, short for Escherichia coli, normally live within the digestive system of humans and animals. Most variants of this bacteria are mostly benign and are actually essential for digestive health in people and animals. But there is the more infamous and most dangerous strain of E. coli, notorious for poisoning people and causing serious symptoms and even death. It has been labelled as E. coli O157:H7, discovered in 1982. This specific strain produces a toxin with the name Shiga that causes symptoms such as kidney failure, bloody diarrhea, and death. There have been outbreaks of O157:H7 in the US, Canada, Europe, South Africa, and Eastern Asia. These types of E. coli are labelled as pathogenic, meaning they can spread and cause illness outside

Show More
Related

  • E. Coli 0157: The True Story Of A Mother's Battle With A Killer Microbe

    934 Words  | 2 Pages

    E. Coli 0157, written by Mary Heersink, is a nerve-racking, adrenaline-filled story of a mother's experience with a then unknown deadly bacteria. The book brings up many reactions in its readers, especially the questioning of the practice of doctors in hospitals. The reader's knowledge base of scientific procedures in emergency centers was widened as well as the knowledge of how to the human body reacts to different agents in its system.

    Read More

  • Escherichia Coli : Coli And Coli

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    ABSTRACT: Water samples from local ponds and lakes and snow runoff were collected and tested for coliform as well as Escherichia coli. Humans as well as animals come into contact with these areas, some are used for recreational activities such as swimming and some are a source of drinking water for both animals and humans The main goal of this experiment was to see which lakes, snow run off and ponds tested positive for coliform or Escherichia coli and to come up with some reasoning as to why. It was found that the more remote pond with less contact contained the most Escherichia coli. However, another lake that many swim in and use as their drinking water indeed tested positive for a small amount of Escherichia coli. The two samples from the snow showed negative results for both coliform and Escherichia coli and the two more public ponds that aren’t as commonly used as a source of human drinking water but animal drinking water tested in the higher range for coliforms but in the little to no Escherichia coli range. It was concluded that the remote pond should be avoided as it’s not a safe source of drinking water for humans or animals. Other than that, the the other ponds are likely to be safe from Escherichia coli, but coliforms are a risk factor.

    Read More

  • Lab Exercise 6: The Ubiquity Of Bacteria

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    Purpose: The purpose of Lab Exercise 6: The Ubiquity of Bacteria is to introduce to the microbiology student, the proper techniques for acquiring bacteria cultures from natural sources and appreciate that bacteria are found everywhere.

    Read More

  • Growth Dynamics Of E. Coli In Varying Concentrations Of Nutrient Broth

    2664 Words  | 6 Pages

    of cells per unit volume versus Time in minutes and Log of the number of cells

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Meatpacking Industry

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    E. Coli and other foodborne illnesses are something that should be of major concern to everybody, becasue nobody is safe from it. It is not something that can be prevented or

    Read More

  • Microorganism Lab Report

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    To identify an unknown microorganism by performing a series of biochemical tests on a pure bacterial culture.

    Read More

  • Common Factors Contributing to Food Poisoning

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dysentery caused by Shigella Dysenteriae. The term ‘food poisoning’ is. reserved for those diseases produced by bacterial exotoxins, for example. example this would include Staphylococcus Aureus and Clostridium. Perfringens but would exclude Salmonella.

    Read More

  • Transmission, Treatment and Prevention of Salmonella

    1122 Words  | 3 Pages

    Salmonella is one of the most common causes of food poisoning. It is a gram-negative, aerobic (oxygen requiring), rod-shaped bacterium that can infect humans, birds, reptiles, and other animals. It results in the swelling of the lining of the stomach and intestines. Salmonella food poisoning occurs worldwide, however it is most frequently reported in North America and Europe. In the United States, Salmonella is responsible for about 15% of all cases of food poisoning (Salmonella food poisoning).

    Read More

  • Clostridium Perfringens: Bacillus Welchii

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    perfringens is the most common cause of foodborne illness in the United States, with a million cases each year (CDC, 2014). C. perfringens is able to produce up to 15 different toxins, making it versatile. These toxins are used to isolate the five different types of C. perfringes: type A, B, C, D, and E. The four toxins that are primarily used to isolate the different types include alpha, beta, epsilon, and iota-toxins. Type A is the most common and most variable, and subdivided into entertoxigenic and non-enterotoxigenic strains (Herholz et al., 1999). Enterotoxigenic type A and C are associated with equine enterocolitis, gas gangrene, infections, avian and canine necrotic enteritis, colitis in horses, and diarrhea in pigs (Divers and Ball, 1996). Types B, C, D, and E can cause severe enteritis, dysentery, toxemia, and high mortality rates in young lambs, calves, pigs, and foals. Types B, C, D, and E have been intermittently associated with foal enterocolitis, and equine antibiotic associated diarrhea (Divers and Ball, 1996). Even though the alpha toxin is noted to be relatively nonpathogenic, the beta2 toxin plays a significant role in digestive disease, specifically, enterocolitis in equine (Herholz et al., 1999). This is mainly due to the C. perfringens entertoxin (CPE), the main virulence factor that initiates many critical gastrointestinal diseases across species (Herholz et al. 1999). CPE works in a four-step mechanism against membrane action (CDC, 2014). First,

    Read More

  • E Coli Infection Essay

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    E. coli are bacteria that can cause an infection in various parts of your body, including your intestines. E. coli bacteria normally live in the intestines of people and animals. Most types of E. coli do not cause infections, but some produce a poison (toxin) that can cause diarrhea. Depending on the toxin, this can cause mild or severe diarrhea.

    Read More

  • Irony In Fast Food Nation

    462 Words  | 1 Pages

    coli O157:H7 outbreak. More specifically, the impact that the illness had on younger people, like teenagers and children. “Lauren Beth Rudolph, ate a hamburger at a San Diego Jack in the Box a week before Christmas. She was admitted to the hospital on Christmas Eve, suffered terrible pain, had three heart attacks, and died in her mother’s arms on December 28, 1992. She was 6 years old” (Schlosser 198). This appeal to emotion was successfully used, considering schlosser’s target audience. Telling an emotional story about a young girl- somebody’s daughter- dying from eating a fast food hamburger will likely be a deterrent to all parents, or atleast make them skeptical about feeding their kids these fast food, E. coli ridden

    Read More

  • E. Coli Transformation Lab Report

    1747 Words  | 4 Pages

    The purpose of the lab was to transform E.coli using the plasmid pRFP to promote the expression of antibiotic resistance as well as expression of the red fluorescent protein (RFP). The hypothesis was that if the transformation was successful, then the bacteria would express RFP because the arabinose would activate the plasmid’s red fluorescent protein, and show growth because pRFP allows E.coli to grow even in the presence of an antibiotic. The plasmid was combined with a sample of E.coli through the process of transformation. Following transformation, the protein was isolated using hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) and the size was determined using SDS-PAGE. The results showed that the E.coli transformed by the pRFP would thrive and express the RFP in the proper environment.

    Read More

  • Meatpacking In Fast Food Nation

    584 Words  | 2 Pages

    He explains how one diseased cow can affect other cattle in a slaughter house, and he provides examples of how these diseases affect human beings. For example, he reports that one animal infected with E. coli 0157:H7 can contaminate 32,000 pounds of ground beef (Schlosser). Schlosser cites a USDA study that exposes facts about the percentage of cattle that have E. coli 0157:H7 in their system. The study claims that the amount of infection in cattle is approximately 1 percent in the winter months and up to 50 percent in summer months. Even at the time when the percentage is the lowest, the infected cattle are still exposing E. coli to an extraordinary amount of ground beef (Schlosser).

    Read More

  • Use of Typhoid as a Biological Terrorism Weapon

    1257 Words  | 3 Pages

    Salmonella typhoid bacteria have over 100 strains in the world today. Most cause illness in humans, but only a few of those strains cause the illness Typhoid Fever (Pike, 2014). Typhoid is a bacterium that has been very devastating to the human race for centuries. Typhoid thrives in undeveloped countries and countries with high populations and poor sanitation procedures. But, it is still a relevant disease here in the United States because of its ease of spread once someone is infected (Pollack, 2003). Antibiotic treatment is usually successful when treating Typhoid Fever, but it still has the ability to cause death, even with treatment of advanced medicine and antibiotics. When one thinks of salmonella, they will most commonly think of a food borne illness (food poisoning symptoms) caused by eating raw or undercooked animal products such as undercooked chicken or pork. That is the effect of some strains of the bacteria, but not the one that causes typhoid fever (Pike, 2014).

    Read More

  • Bacterial Enumeration of Various Meat Products

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    Bosilevac JM, Koohmaraie M. 2011. Prevalence and Characterization of Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Isolates from Commercial Ground Beef in the United States. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 77(6): 2103-2112.

    Read More

More about E. Coli O157 Research Paper

Open Document