EHEC is capable of inducing life threatening illnesses, particularly in people with immune deficiency, young children and the elderly. Although the most common cause of EHEC is E. coli O157, other serotypes, such as O26, O45, O103, O111, O121 and O145, are also relatively frequent causes of infection. Typical symptoms are severe abdominal pain and diarrhoea, which is initially watery but often becomes bloody. E. coli are gram-negative, non sporulating, facultative anaerobic bacilli. Amongst the pathogenic E. coli, Verotoxin-forming strains (STEC or VTEC) have gained importance in recent years. The group of enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) with its highly pathogenic serovar O157:H7 strain is particularly interesting in this respect. The main sources of infection are contaminated, raw or insufficiently heated foods of animal origin, such as meat and dairy products. The reservoir for EHEC is the gut of ruminants. Microorganisms can enter food during the processing of meat and dairy products if hygienic conditions are inadequate. The drastic increase in the incidence of food contamination caused by E. coli O157 demands reliable and rapid methods of detection. Innovative, rapid tests make screening for pathogenic organisms easier. Complete test sets for the detection of pathogens and toxins. The one-step format reduces the possibility of errors during handling. In addition to tests for the most common cause of infection, E. coli O157, there exits a 24-H screening protocol for VTEC, including E. coli O104:H4, based on Rapidcult™ E. coli enrichment combined with detection using Duopath® Verotoxins.
- Easy to use: simply add sample and read off the result
- Safe: clear and distinctive positive or negative test results with built-in positive control
- Reliable: as sensitive as the official culture media method
- Economical: rapid results save labour and inventory costs
