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ENTEROTOXIN‐PRODUCING Escherichia coli AND DIARRHOEA AMONG NEWBORN BABIES IN DARWIN
Author(s) -
Luke R. K. J.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1978.tb107817.x
Subject(s) - enterotoxin , escherichia coli , heat labile enterotoxin , microbiology and biotechnology , outbreak , diarrhea , biology , escherichia , diarrhoeal disease , virology , medicine , genetics , gene
Specimens of Escherichia coli O 119 B 14 isolated from 13 newborn babies during an outbreak of diarrhoea in Darwin Hospital were tested for their ability to produce enterotoxin. Of the 13 isolates tested none was found to produce heat‐labile enterotoxin. However, isolates from two of the five diarrhoeal faecal specimens were found to produce moderate levels of heat‐stable enterotoxin (ST). It seems likely that ST‐producing strains of E. coli were responsible for the diarrhoea.