153
strains in its ranks. But most E. coli are harmless. Billions of them live peacefully in
my intestines, billions more in yours, and many others in just about every warm
blooded animal on Earth. All told, there are around 100 billion billion on Earth. They
live in rivers and lakes, forests and backyards. And they also live in thousands of
laboratories, nurtured in yeasty flasks and smeared across petri dishes.”27
References
1. Kupferschmidt K. “As E. coli outbreak recedes, new questions come to the fore.” Science. 2011 333:27.
2. Fitzpatrick M. “Haemolytic uraemic syndrome and E coli 0157.” BMJ. 1999 318:684–5.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli. Accessed 1 July 2011.
4. Sussman M (ed). Escherichia coli: Mechanisms of Virulence. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK, 1997.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Benedict J. Poisoned: The True Story of the Deadly E. coli Outbreak that Changed the Way Americans Eat. Inspire
Books, Buena Vista, VA, 2011.
8. Escherich T. “Die Darmbakterien de Sauglings und Neugeborenen.” Fortschritte der Medizin. 1885 3:515–22.
9. Wikipedia. http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodor_Escherich. Accessed 11 July 2011.
10. Op cit 4.
11. Sachs JS. Good Germs, Bad Germs. Hill and Wang Publishers, New York, 2007.
12. Crick F. Life Itself: Its Origin and Nature. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1981.
13. Neuman W. “Food companies act to prevent consumers from E. coli illness.” New York Times. 15 July 2011.
14. National Consumers League. http://nclnet.org/newsroom/press-releases/536-consumer-advocate-
surge-usda-to-dec. Accessed 16 July 2011.
15. Op cit 4.
16. Yong Y et al. “Crystal structure of EHEC intimin: insights into the complementarity between EPEC and
EHEC.” PLoS One. 2010 5(12)e15285.
17. Levine MM. Escherichia coli that cause diarrhea, enterotoxigenic, enteropathogenic, enteroinvasive, enterohem-
orrhagic and enteroadherent. J. Infect Dis. 1987 155(1):377–89.
18. Scotland SM et al. “Properties of strains of Escherichia coli in relation to their enteropathic or enterohemor-
rhagic classification.” J. Infect Dis. 1990 162(5):1069–74.
19. Rasko DA et al. “Origins of the E. coli strain causing an outbreak of hemolytic-uremic syndrome in Germany.”
NEJM. 2011. DOI:10.1056/NEJMoa1106920.
20. E. Coli litigation. http://ecolilitigaton.com. Accessed 11 July 2011.
21. Zimmer C. Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life. Vintage Books, New York, 2008.
22. Op cit 4.
23. Vallance BA, Finley BB. Exploitation of host cells by enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. PNAS. 2000
97(16):8799–8806.
24. Op cit 4.
25. About.com. http://biotech.about.com/od/technicaltheory/tp/Ecoli.htm?p=1. Accessed 11 July 2011.
26. Op cit 21.
27. Ibid.
Published in Regulatory Focus, September 2011. Copyright © 2011 Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society.
Escherichia coli: Friend or Foe?
strains in its ranks. But most E. coli are harmless. Billions of them live peacefully in
my intestines, billions more in yours, and many others in just about every warm
blooded animal on Earth. All told, there are around 100 billion billion on Earth. They
live in rivers and lakes, forests and backyards. And they also live in thousands of
laboratories, nurtured in yeasty flasks and smeared across petri dishes.”27
References
1. Kupferschmidt K. “As E. coli outbreak recedes, new questions come to the fore.” Science. 2011 333:27.
2. Fitzpatrick M. “Haemolytic uraemic syndrome and E coli 0157.” BMJ. 1999 318:684–5.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli. Accessed 1 July 2011.
4. Sussman M (ed). Escherichia coli: Mechanisms of Virulence. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK, 1997.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Benedict J. Poisoned: The True Story of the Deadly E. coli Outbreak that Changed the Way Americans Eat. Inspire
Books, Buena Vista, VA, 2011.
8. Escherich T. “Die Darmbakterien de Sauglings und Neugeborenen.” Fortschritte der Medizin. 1885 3:515–22.
9. Wikipedia. http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodor_Escherich. Accessed 11 July 2011.
10. Op cit 4.
11. Sachs JS. Good Germs, Bad Germs. Hill and Wang Publishers, New York, 2007.
12. Crick F. Life Itself: Its Origin and Nature. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1981.
13. Neuman W. “Food companies act to prevent consumers from E. coli illness.” New York Times. 15 July 2011.
14. National Consumers League. http://nclnet.org/newsroom/press-releases/536-consumer-advocate-
surge-usda-to-dec. Accessed 16 July 2011.
15. Op cit 4.
16. Yong Y et al. “Crystal structure of EHEC intimin: insights into the complementarity between EPEC and
EHEC.” PLoS One. 2010 5(12)e15285.
17. Levine MM. Escherichia coli that cause diarrhea, enterotoxigenic, enteropathogenic, enteroinvasive, enterohem-
orrhagic and enteroadherent. J. Infect Dis. 1987 155(1):377–89.
18. Scotland SM et al. “Properties of strains of Escherichia coli in relation to their enteropathic or enterohemor-
rhagic classification.” J. Infect Dis. 1990 162(5):1069–74.
19. Rasko DA et al. “Origins of the E. coli strain causing an outbreak of hemolytic-uremic syndrome in Germany.”
NEJM. 2011. DOI:10.1056/NEJMoa1106920.
20. E. Coli litigation. http://ecolilitigaton.com. Accessed 11 July 2011.
21. Zimmer C. Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life. Vintage Books, New York, 2008.
22. Op cit 4.
23. Vallance BA, Finley BB. Exploitation of host cells by enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. PNAS. 2000
97(16):8799–8806.
24. Op cit 4.
25. About.com. http://biotech.about.com/od/technicaltheory/tp/Ecoli.htm?p=1. Accessed 11 July 2011.
26. Op cit 21.
27. Ibid.
Published in Regulatory Focus, September 2011. Copyright © 2011 Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society.
Escherichia coli: Friend or Foe?