E. coli is a common type of bacteria that can get into food. Its medical term Escherichia coli. It is the most common gram-negative human pathogen. E. coli is among the most common and important human bacterial pathogens, causing more than 90% of all urinary tract infections and many cases of diarrheal illness worldwide.
The strange thing about these bacteria — and lots of other bacteria — is that they're not always harmful to human. E. coli normally lives inside the intestines, where it helps to body break down and digest the food.
Unfortunately, certain types (called strains) of E. coli can get from the intestines into the blood. This is a rare illness, but it can cause a very serious infection.
The bacterium is the most frequent cause of urinary tract infections and is commonly found in wounds.
Someone who has E. coli infection may have these symptoms: fever and chills bad stomach cramps and belly pain vomiting diarrhea, sometimes with blood in it. E. coli blood poisoning can be rapidly fatal as a result of shock because of the action of an endotoxin released by the bacteria.
E. coli is undoubtedly a great opportunist and frequently causes pneumonia and sepsis in immune-compromised hosts and meningitis and sepsis in newborns.
Beef can contain E. coli because the bacteria often infect cattle. It can be in meat that comes from cattle. Most E. coli infections come from:
*Eating undercooked ground beef (the inside is pink)
*Drinking contaminated (impure) water
*Drinking unpasteurized (raw) milk
*Working with cattle
The most common way to get this infection is by eating contaminated food. Human can be infected with the E. coli germ if they don't use a high temperature to cook beef, or if don't cook it long enough. When human eat undercooked beef, the germs go into stomach and intestines.
Contamination of wounds with E. coli may lead to wound infection. Such contamination may be endogenous, from the fecal flora, or exogenous, from water or soil.
E. coli infection
