ESCHERICHIA COLI ENTEROHEMORRHAGIC STRAINS: BIOLOGICAL FEATURES, EPIDEMIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS, METHODS FOR LABORATORY DIAGNOSIS
Significance of enterohemorrhagic strains of Escherichia coli (ESEC) as etiologic agents causing food intoxications has increased due to the unfavorable situation observed in European countries associated with the acute intestinal infection caused by E. coli O104H4 spread. The ESEC detailed biologic and epidemiologic characteristics are presented in the publication. Current methods of laboratory diagnosis and of the food quality control used in clinical microbiologic laboratories and European scientific research centers as protocols for diagnosing infections caused by ESEC are described. The international documents and standards of detecting and indentifying ESEC while performing microbiologic monitoring are presented.