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What exactly is E. coli?

Your gastrointestinal tract (stomach, intestines, and excretion system) is a complex group of organs that work together to help your body digest food so that your body can use the food to live. Your gastrointestinal system stores different kinds of bacteria that help your body cope with the food, drink, and other foreign matter that you take in.

In fact, every person has E. coli in their intestines. E. coli is a strain of bacteria that is very strong and can survive in a variety of environmentally harsh conditions. For your body, E. coli is a welcome and helpful bacteria.

Understanding E. coli Bacteria

The E. coli is a Gram-negative bacteria family and facultative anaerobic bacillus. Most of its varieties are non-pathogenic; many are, in fact, “useful” for the human and animal colon, but it has pathogenic subtypes.

These bacteria can produce several epidemiologically important virulence factors and can cause diarrheal disease, urinary tract infections, nosocomial infections, environmental contamination, and occasional systemic infections. The most important among these pathogens is O157:H7 serotype.

E. coli bacteria, named after the bacteriologist Theodor Escherich, are a common kind of bacteria that live in the intestines of animals and humans. Some of these bacteria may spread to other organs and cause illness, including urinary tract infections, diarrhoea, and neonatal meningitis.

E. coli bacteria belong to the group of Enterobacteriaceae or “enteric bacteria,” which, in addition to mammals, can be found in soil, food, and water. Their habitat can, in fact, be found in the gut of humans and warm-blooded animals.

Because coliform bacteria inhabit the intestines of animals, they usually have short lifespans in the environment. If coliforms are present in a water sample, it is generally thought that a source of faecal contamination exists. Out of all coliform organisms, E. coli is usually the best indicator of faecal contamination.

E. coli bacteria inhabit the intestines of both humans and animals and are not intended to cause harm. In fact, the presence of E. coli is a positive indication of the health of the intestinal system in both animals and humans.

However, E. coli bacteria have acquired an unfavourable status in the public mind as there are some strains of E. coli that can cause illness. These particular strains of E. coli are referred to as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC).

Types of E. coli Strains

E. coli O157:H7 are large problems in the food industry because if ingested, the bacteria produce chemicals that are toxic in the human body. In the gastrointestinal tract, it produces verotoxins (Stx1 and 2) and Shiga-like toxins. These toxins can be very bad for children, elderly people, and those with weakened immune systems. The next strain is UPEC.

These are Extraintestinal Pathogenic E. coli. These bacteria are pathogenic for urinary tract infections. These bacteria live in the colon, but they can travel through the urethra and into the bladder. Once they travel into the bladder, they can multiply, reproduce, and make the individual very sick.

These are common infectious bacteria that can be found in hospitals. The next strain is EHEC. These are Enterohemorrhagic E. coli. These carry the same virulence factors as Stx-producing E. coli but EHEC has added toxins that cause diarrhoea. This was identified in the 1980s. More strains were then sorted and grouped into pathovars.

The next strain is EAEC. These are not in the normal flora; these are not usually present in the colon, but when they enter the colon, they cause diarrhoea. They attach to a host cell of the colon to the causing pedestal forming. It puts out a signal that leads to “effacement” of the host-villi membrane and a different type of diarrhoea is produced.

These form deposits of diarrhoea-producing toxins resulting in less fluid absorption. The next strain is ETEC. These are Enterotoxigenic (stacking) their Virulence factors (heat-labile toxins, LT, and heat stable toxins, ST) cause a “travellers” diarrhoea. This infantile diarrhoea comes from the toxin produced by bacteria in the food that was eaten.

The next E. coli strain is E. coli 83972. It can be given to aid in the reduction of urinary tract infections. It is missing the genes required for “full virulence”. It is placed in the host; it outcompetes UPEC for binding sites and as it reproduces, it decreases the amount of UPEC in the host. Then the illness due to UPEC is decreased.

In every given type of bacteria, there are different strains that carry out different functions and have different characteristics.

Many of these functions are unrecognized and unknown, but many bacteria do have a great deal of variation within them, such as pigmentation or the ability to digest different types of substrates.

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