Although the guts of all of us contain types of the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli) that are
harmless, the O157 type produces a toxin that can cause serious disease in people. The number of
reported cases is only around 1000 each year but a small proportion of these can result in life-threatening
kidney and blood damage.
Professor Mark Stevens now at the the Roslin Institute was filmed for a short
video
that is available on the BBC News website.
In the film Mark explains that a few cattle and sheep on many farms are infected with E. coli O157 at
one time or another, though with no ill effect. Unfortunately, O157 does cause disease in people; if
trace amounts of the bacterium contaminate meat, milk or fingers then infection might result. Fortunately,
as Mark explains, simple hygiene measures and thorough cooking of food are generally sufficient to get
rid of the bacterium.