EHEC (Enterohemorrhagic E. coli)

Causative agent of severe, crampy abdominal pain, watery diarrhea, followed by bloody diarrhea (hemorrhagic colitis)

Transmission through food (hamburgers) and water (fairs), and person to person.

EHEC may be a possible antiviral agent in cattle.

Only 50 organisms needed to cause disease...cook your beef!

   Shiga toxin 2 is an AB₅ toxin.

   B pentamer binds globotriaosylceramide.

   Endocytosis of the holotoxin: Golgi/ER/cytoplasm.

   An adenine is removed from the 28S rRNA

 http://www.bmsc.washington.edu/projects/toxins.html.
 

Antibiotics can enhance disease:   

    lysed bacteria release more toxin

    toxin can cause nonpathogenic E. coli to produce toxin

    local flora may be removed allowing for better systemic absorption of the toxin

Also utilizes type III secretion

No vaccine

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