Ecolivirus.com

Origins of the E. Coli Pathogen

Picture
     E. Coli was named after Theodore Escherichia when he discovered the bacterium in 1885 and determined its properties.  Eschericia was a German-Austiran pediatrician who was born in Ansbach, Kingdom of Bavaria on November 29th, 1857.  He was awarded a doctrine in medicine in 1881 and early devoted himself to the study of bacteriology.
    Escherichia cultured the
faeces of healthy individuals, where it can be
found almost universally in the large intestine, or colon,
hence the ‘coli’.  It was renamed Escherichia coli in 1919 in
a revision of bacteriological nomenclature, to lend more
specificity to this particular form of Bacterium.  

    Widely known for its lethal capability, E. coli 0157:H7 is the most common and dangerous strain of E.coli and is found in feces and meat. When milk, cider, water, sawdust, and even the air come in contact with cow feces they may become contaminated with E. coli. Meat is the most common source of infection in humans.  The virus was first recognized as a fooborne pathogen in 1982 during an investigation of an epidemic of hemorrhagic colitis (bloody diarrhea) associated with the consumption of contaminated hamburgers.  Ever since then, it has become a widely known pathogen that continues to infect thousands each year.