• Question: What is e coli?

    Asked by yooda to Bob, Katie, Nisha, Sallie, Vee on 27 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Sallie Baxendale

      Sallie Baxendale answered on 27 Jun 2012:

      Ecoli is a rod-shaped bacterium that is normally found in your gut. Most E. coli strains are harmless. They are part of the normal flora of the gut, and can benefit you by producing vitamin K. They can also stop other, more harmful bacteria growing in your intestine. However some types can cause serious food poisoning in humans, leading to death in rare cases.

    • Photo: Bob Bonwick

      Bob Bonwick answered on 27 Jun 2012:

      Escherichia coli to give it it’s full name, is a bacteria. As sallie says it is a rod, or bacilli shaped organism. Generally harmless but there are many rebels out there that will do you harm if given the chance. It is also used heavily in the lab as a work horse of sorts to help us produce things, like enzymes.

    • Photo: Katie McDonald

      Katie McDonald answered on 28 Jun 2012:

      Hello! Yes, it’s a normal gut bacterium. Often, particularly in older people, it can cause urinary tract infections. The ones you see in the news are specific strains like O157, which causes kidney failure and is very serious.

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