See Also: E coli(health)
E. coli(encyclopedia)
coli(dictionary)
E. coli(dictionary)
B coli(health)
E. coli(dictionary)
polyposis coli(medicine)
haustra coli(medicine)
E coli O157-H7(health)
coli granuloma(medicine)

E coli (health)


Short for Escherichia coli, the colon bacillus, a bacterium that normally resides in the human colon. E. coli has been studied intensively in genetics and molecular and cell biology because of its availability, its small genome size, its normal lack of pathogenicity (disease-causing ability), and its ease of growth in the laboratory. Most strains of E coli are quite harmless. However, some strains of E. coli are capable of causing disease, sometimes disease of deadly proportions. For example, an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 bacteria in the water supply hit Walkerton, Ontario in the year 2000; the E. coli affected about 2,000 people in and around Walkerton and were responsible for the deaths of some 18 people.