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. 1996 Sep;62(9):3466–3469. doi: 10.1128/aem.62.9.3466-3469.1996

Prevalence of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli in raw and treated municipal sewage.

S B Grant 1, C P Pendroy 1, C L Mayer 1, J K Bellin 1, C J Palmer 1
PMCID: PMC168145  PMID: 8795239

Abstract

Municipal sewage was screened for DNA encoding Shiga-like Toxin (SLT) II, a key protein involved in the virulence of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli. PCR analysis of sewage concentrates showed that DNA encoding SLT II was present in a single sample of untreated sewage and absent in all other samples tested (n = 6). Thermotolerant E. coli cultured from the sewage (n = 1,520) also tested negative for SLT II by colony hybridization.

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Selected References

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