title: VTEC: lessons learned from British outbreaks.
abstract: Important Escherichia coli O157 outbreaks in England and Scotland since 1982-83 are reviewed. The scientific lessons learned from them are described and their legal consequences outlined. The light shed by them on relationships between law and science is discussed, and questions of blame are analysed in the context of Reason's 'resident pathogen' metaphor and Vaughan's study of the 1986 Challenger Space Shuttle disaster.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Aberdeen, Medical School, Foresterhill, UK.
authors.forename: T H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Pennington
mesh_terms: D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019453:Escherichia coli O157; D006801:Humans; D007881:Legislation, Food; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology