Escherichia coli O157:H7(E-Coli) is an emerging cause of food borne illness. An estimated 73,000 cases of infection and 61 deaths occur in the United States each year. Infection often leads to bloody diarrhea, and occasionally to kidney failure. Most illness has been associated with eating undercooked, contaminated ground beef. Person-to-person contact in families and child care centers is also an important mode of transmission. Infection can also occur after drinking raw milk and after swimming in or drinking sewage-contaminated water. People can prevent E-Coli infection by thoroughly cooking ground beef, avoiding unpasteurized milk, and washing hands carefully.
Due to the fact that the organisms live in the intestines of healthy cattle, preventive measures on cattle farms and during meat processing are being investigated.
E-Coli O157:H7 is one of hundreds of strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli. Although most strains are harmless and live in the intestines of healthy......
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