Sorbitol-Fermenting Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli O157:H − Strains: Epidemiology, Phenotypic and Molecular Characteristics, and Microbiological Diagnosis

The significance of Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 as the major cause of hemorrhagic colitis and the hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) worldwide has been well established (for reviews, see references211, 312, 413, and 604). The recognition of this pathogen