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. 1988 Oct;101(2):327-35.
doi: 10.1017/s0950268800054261.

The use of sorbitol-MacConkey agar in conjunction with a specific antiserum for the detection of Vero cytotoxin-producing strains of Escherichia coli O 157

H Kleanthous  1 , N K Fry, H R Smith, R J Gross, B Rowe
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The use of sorbitol-MacConkey agar in conjunction with a specific antiserum for the detection of Vero cytotoxin-producing strains of Escherichia coli O 157

H Kleanthous et al. Epidemiol Infect. 1988 Oct.

Abstract

Using DNA probes specific for the genes encoding Vero cytotoxins 1 and 2 in hybridization experiments on faecal samples, Vero cytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) of serogroup O 157 were detected in 21 of 63 cases of haemorrhagic colitis, 9 of 31 cases of non-bloody diarrhoea and 14 of 68 cases of haemolytic uraemic syndrome. Compared with these results sorbitol-MacConkey agar in conjunction with a specific O 157 antiserum gave a sensitivity of 62% in haemorrhagic colitis, 56% in non-bloody diarrhoea and 57% in haemolytic uraemic syndrome. The specificity of this method was 100% in all three groups. This demonstrates that sorbitol-MacConkey agar is a useful screening method for the detection of VTEC of serogroup O 157 when used in conjunction with a specific homologous antiserum. However, this method does not detect VTEC belonging to other serogroups and such strains were found, particularly in cases of haemolytic uraemic syndrome.

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