VTEC - Is it a food-borne zoonosis?

Abstract

Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) have in recent years been incriminated as pathogens in at least two serious diseases: hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and hemorrhagic colitis. In several instances, authors have implied that VTEC has been acquired from foods of animal origin, and that the ultimate reservoir for the agent is in the animals, particularly dairy cattle. No studies have been carried out which adequately test that hypothesis, and the suggestion that VTEC is a food-borne zoonosis must be subject to further research.