Abstract
Recent outbreaks of hemorrhagic colitis have been linked to undercooked meat products, raw milk, and substandard wastewater treatment facilities containing Escherichia coli serogroup 0157:H7. Due to the facultative nature of this organism, mechanisms of infection via exposure to contaminated waters or soil should be investigated. The purpose of this study was to assess the utility of a method for isolating E. coli 0157:H7 from a spiked environmental matrix. The sample consisted of an unfiltered, brackish sandy-clay slurry collected from the Puget Sound. The sample was split and inoculated with 'high' and 'low' dilutions of an 18-hour culture at 10-2 and 10-8, respectively. Samples were refrigerated at 4°C for 72 hours, and then analyzed. From the 72-hour procedure, three cultures in the high group and two in the low group contained the 0157:H7 antigens. The procedure was repeated with the original samples after a 20-day storage period at 4°C. The 20-day high soil again yielded three cultures positive, and the low slurry one positive. The organism was not isolated from the negative control. This is the first report of the isolation of E. coli 0157:H7 from a spiked seawater matrix.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 19-21 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Journal of Environmental Health |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| State | Published - 1995 |