title: Shiga Toxin Producing Escherichia coli.
abstract: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is among the common causes of foodborne gastroenteritis. STEC is defined by the production of specific toxins, but within this pathotype there is a diverse group of organisms. This diversity has important consequences for understanding the pathogenesis of the organism, as well as for selecting the optimum strategy for diagnostic testing in the clinical laboratory. This review includes discussions of the mechanisms of pathogenesis, the range of manifestations of infection, and the several different methods of laboratory detection of Shiga toxin-producing E coli.
authors.affiliation: Division of Laboratory Medicine, Department of Pathology, Beth-Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Allen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bryan
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Boston Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Ilan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Youngster
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: alexander.mcadam@childrens.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Alexander J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: McAdam
mesh_terms: D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques / Q000379:methods; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D022621:Shiga Toxin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D054323:Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D022621:Shiga Toxin
keywords: Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli O157; Gastroenteritis; Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli