E. coli: what do you need to know?
Regularly implicated in epidemics of food infections, Escherichia coli or E.coli presents several facets unknown to the general public. Often beneficial for the body, sometimes deadly, the bacteria continue to raise questions. When should you be wary of it? What are the symptoms of an infection and how is the diagnosis made? Update on the most famous bacteria.
A friendly or an enemy bacteria?
Escherichia Coli ou E.coli is a bacterium naturally present in the intestines of humans and most mammals. Far from being pathogenic, it makes up about 80% of our intestinal flora and participates in the proper functioning of the gastrointestinal system. This is how, along with 400 other species, it forms a stable ecosystem, essential for maintaining good health. Any event likely to disrupt the balance of this intestinal flora can cause diarrhea.
There are unfortunately strains (or “variants”) of E.coli which are dangerous for the body and responsible for diseases such as gastroenteritis, urinary tract infections, meningitis …
Why does E.coli sometimes become dangerous for the body? Each of these strains is derived from a harmless bacterium, which mutates spontaneously. Most of the time, the mutation generated does not allow the bacteria to survive, but it very rarely happens that this mutation gives it an advantage over other bacteria, thus disturbing the balance of the flora. The mutant bacterium proliferates, leaving all its descendants with the new pathogenic property.