[Rapid detection of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli in food with multiplex PCR assay].

Rapid detection of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) in food was achieved by using multiplex PCR assay. The assay was designed to amplify the 1109, 302 and 228 bp regions of corresponding virulence genes eaeA, hlyAB, slt1 and/or slt2, by using specific primers for each one reaction. In 60 EHEC and other strains, the above three virulence gene sequences were co-amplified from DNA isolated from 12 EHEC O157:H7 strains, 1 O26:H11 strain and 1 O111:H8 strain; eaeA sequence was amplified from DNA isolated from 2 EAEC strains; slt1/2 sequence was amplified from DNA isolated from 1 VTEC strain. No specific amplification product was produced from other 43 non-EHEC strains. For the detection of EHEC in food, results could be obtained within 8 hrs, and the sensitivity of assay was less than or equal to 1.6 cfu/g(ml) of food. The method was applied to 126 food samples, and EHEC was detected in 3 samples.