Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Characterization and Interventions for Foodborne Pathogens » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #283523
Title: Utilization of pre-enrichment for improved sensitivity of an ELISA-based detection system for Escherichia coli O157:H7

Author
item GILLESPIE, BARBARA - University Of Tennessee
item D'SOUZA, DORIS - University Of Tennessee
item BARNETT, CHARLES - Nanodetection Technology
item Gehring, Andrew
item EAKER, SHANNON - Nanodetection Technology
item PERERA, ASHAN - Nanodetection Technology
item JONES, KEVIN - Nanodetection Technology
item LIN, JUN - University Of Tennessee
item OLIVER, STEPHEN - University Of Tennessee

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/22/2012
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: It is estimated that one in six persons are stricken with a foodborne illness each year in the United States resulting in ~3000 deaths (1). Shiga toxin-producing E. coli strains are major foodborne pathogens capable of causing diarrhea and hemorrhagic colitis, which may lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome. Along with E. coli O157:H7, emerging non-O157 strains (O26, O103, O121, O145, O111, and O45) are now recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as major contributors of severe foodborne illness. Recent outbreaks associated with emerging non-O157 strains have heightened the need for their enhanced surveillance. Enrichment media are widely used to enhance the growth of foodborne pathogens from implicated or suspect samples, thereby improving detection assay sensitivity. Universal pre-enrichment broth (UPB) is an enrichment medium that provides adequate buffering capacity to prevent rapid decreases in pH, and allows for repair of injured cells that may be sensitive to low pH or inhibitors (2). Our objective was to improve the sensitivity of the ELISA-based system for E. coli O157:H7 detection by the addition of a pre-enrichment step.