Causes, prevention and treatment of Escherichia coli infections
Intended for healthcare professionals
CPD Previous     Next

Causes, prevention and treatment of Escherichia coli infections

Dinah Gould Professor of applied health, City University London

Escherichia coli is a normal inhabitant of the human gastrointestinal tract and can cause healthcare-associated infections. The organism is most frequently responsible for urinary tract infections and it is the bacterium most often implicated in the cause of diarrhoea in people travelling overseas. In recent years, a strain called E.coli O157 has gained notoriety for causing foodborne infection, which can have severe health consequences, especially in young children. This article describes the range of different infections caused by E.coli in healthcare settings and the community and discusses the characteristics of the different strains of the bacteria that explain variations in their pathogenicity.

Nursing Standard. 24, 31, 50-56. doi: 10.7748/ns2010.04.24.31.50.c7692

Correspondence

d.gould@city.ac.uk

Peer review

This article has been subject to double blind peer review

Your organisation does not have access to this article
Recommend to your librarian
RCNi-Plus
Already have access? Log in

OR

3-month trial offer for �5.25/month

Subscribe today and save 50% on your first three months
RCNi Plus users have full access to the following benefits:
  • Unlimited access to all 10 RCNi Journals
  • RCNi Learning featuring over 175 modules to easily earn CPD time
  • NMC-compliant RCNi Revalidation Portfolio to stay on track with your progress
  • Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests
  • A customisable dashboard with over 200 topics
Subscribe

Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days. Buy now


Are you a student? Our student subscription has content especially for you.
Find out more