title: Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli in raw and cooked food.
abstract: A total of 402 Escherichia coli isolates were obtained from a variety of food samples and screened for enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC). Screening was carried out using 15 specific monovalent antisera from Murex Diagnostic Limited. A total of 19 E. coli isolates were serotyped as EPEC. The EPEC strains were shown to belong to 8 serotypes. Eight out of 19 EPEC strains belonged to serotype 018C:K77 (B21). Seventeen out of 19 of the EPEC strains were isolated from cooked food. The presence of E. coli in cooked food is an indicator of fecal contamination and a sign of unhygienic food handling. The presence of EPEC in food could be a potential source of food-borne outbreak. Hygiene training for every food-handler is a necessity.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Research, Jalan Pahang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Norazah
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rahizan
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zainuldin
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Rohani
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Kamel
mesh_terms: D001628:Beverages / Q000382:microbiology; D003296:Cooking; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000382:microbiology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005638:Fruit / Q000382:microbiology; D008296:Malaysia; D012703:Serotyping; D014675:Vegetables / Q000382:microbiology