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SEROLOGICAL CROSS-REACTIONS BETWEEN ESCHERICHIA COLI 0157 AND OTHER SPECIES OF THE GENUS ESCHERICHIA
Citation:
Rice, E.W., E. Sowers, C. Johnson, M. Dunnigan, N. Strockbine, AND S. Edberg. SEROLOGICAL CROSS-REACTIONS BETWEEN ESCHERICHIA COLI 0157 AND OTHER SPECIES OF THE GENUS ESCHERICHIA. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-92/165 (NTIS PB92180306).
Description:
Escherichia hermannii, a sorbitol-negative species of the genus Escherichia, has been reported to be agglutinated by Escherichia coli 0157 and four sorbitol-negative species of the genus Escherichia: . hermannii (24 isolates), Escherichia fergusonii (12 isolates), Escherichia vulneris (12 isolates), and Escherichia blattae (1 isolate). solates were tested in the tube agglutination assay using polyclonal antiserum against E. coli 0157:H7 and in a slide agglutination assay using E. coli 0157 latex reagents from two commercial suppliers. nly four of twenty-four E. hermannii isolates cross-reacted in both the tube and latex agglutination assays suggesting antigenic variation within the species. here was no apparent correlation between an isolate's cross-reactivity and the source from which it was isolated. o cross-reactions were observed among the other Escherichia species tested. lthough not all strains cross-reacted, 17% of E. hermannii isolates in this collection would have been misidentified as E. coli 0157 on the basis of these serological tests and the biochemical tests commonly used in many laboratories. alse-positive reactions from E. hermannii can be avoided by testing sorbitol-negative colonies that agglutinate in E. coli 0157-specific antiserum or latex reagents for fermentation of cellobiose, growth in KCN and production of yellow pigment.