3 ms·

The strains in your gut aren't really benign, they're just isolated to your gut. If you exposed someone to those strains by say not washing your hands before co

The strains in your gut aren't really benign, they're just isolated to your gut. If you exposed someone to those strains by say not washing your hands before cooking, it would not be fine. I agree GP is being silly though.

pazimzadeh 3y ago
Not really. Anyway the genome of E. coli is extremely diverse, there is not really such a thing as "E. coli." And strain that colonizes your gut may not colonize someone else's, or cause problems. But most living things can be opportunistic e.g. if your immune system is compromised.
- mtlmtlmtlmtl 3y ago
  I stand corrected.
  - pazimzadeh 3y ago
    Well, you're not totally wrong since the body does have several layers of defense to keep the bacteria in the intestine, and bad things happen when they break down: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0803124105 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0803124105 On the other hand the immune system selects for beneficial bacteria, which take up space and nutrients so that really harmful ones can't colonize: https://sci-hub.se/10.1038/nri3535 https://sci-hub.se/10.1038/nri3535; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05141-x https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05141-x
YeGoblynQueenne 3y ago
The E. coli strains of concern are the so-called enterotoxic (or enterotoxigenic) E. coli and the Shiga-toxin producing strains. Those are not commonly found in peoples' guts and when they are, they cause... trouble. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a type of Escherichia coli and one of the leading bacterial causes of diarrhea in the developing world,[1] as well as the most common cause of travelers' diarrhea.[2] Insufficient data exists, but conservative estimates suggest that each year, about 157,000 deaths occur, mostly in children, from ETEC.[3][4][5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterotoxigenic_Escherichia_coli https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterotoxigenic_Escherichia_co... The most common sources for Shiga toxin are the bacteria S. dysenteriae and some serotypes of Escherichia coli (STEC), which includes serotypes O157:H7, and O104:H4.[4][5] Symptoms of Shiga toxin ingestion include abdominal pain as well as watery diarrhea. Severe life-threatening cases are characterized by hemorrhagic colitis (HC).[15] The toxin is associated with hemolytic-uremic syndrome. In contrast, Shigella species may also produce shigella enterotoxins, which are the cause of dysentery. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiga_toxin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiga_toxin

pazimzadeh 3y ago

Not really. Anyway the genome of E. coli is extremely diverse, there is not really such a thing as "E. coli." And strain that colonizes your gut may not colonize someone else's, or cause problems. But most living things can be opportunistic e.g. if your immune system is compromised.

mtlmtlmtlmtl 3y ago
I stand corrected.
- pazimzadeh 3y ago
  Well, you're not totally wrong since the body does have several layers of defense to keep the bacteria in the intestine, and bad things happen when they break down: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0803124105 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0803124105 On the other hand the immune system selects for beneficial bacteria, which take up space and nutrients so that really harmful ones can't colonize: https://sci-hub.se/10.1038/nri3535 https://sci-hub.se/10.1038/nri3535; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05141-x https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05141-x

YeGoblynQueenne 3y ago

The E. coli strains of concern are the so-called enterotoxic (or enterotoxigenic) E. coli and the Shiga-toxin producing strains. Those are not commonly found in peoples' guts and when they are, they cause... trouble. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a type of Escherichia coli and one of the leading bacterial causes of diarrhea in the developing world,[1] as well as the most common cause of travelers' diarrhea.[2] Insufficient data exists, but conservative estimates suggest that each year, about 157,000 deaths occur, mostly in children, from ETEC.[3][4][5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterotoxigenic_Escherichia_coli https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterotoxigenic_Escherichia_co... The most common sources for Shiga toxin are the bacteria S. dysenteriae and some serotypes of Escherichia coli (STEC), which includes serotypes O157:H7, and O104:H4.[4][5] Symptoms of Shiga toxin ingestion include abdominal pain as well as watery diarrhea. Severe life-threatening cases are characterized by hemorrhagic colitis (HC).[15] The toxin is associated with hemolytic-uremic syndrome. In contrast, Shigella species may also produce shigella enterotoxins, which are the cause of dysentery. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiga_toxin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiga_toxin