Probe To Identify Enteroinvasive E. coli And Shigella Species

Standard means for detecting pathogenic organisms in food or clinical specimens rely on animals or large DNA fragments, such as the 17 kb EcoRI fragment of Boileau. These methods are expensive, time-consuming, difficult to use, and have not been able to distinguish between nonvirulent enteroinvasive E. coli and Shigella. This invention describes DNA probes for enteroinvasive E. coli and Shigella species, including the sequence of the 2.5 kb fragment (SmaII and Falkow's) on which the probe is based.

The probe is more reliable, more sensitive, and less expensive than methods now in use.