Giant Microbes - E. Coli

E. coli (short for Escherichia coli) usually makes people think of food poisoning, diarrhea, and other nasty things. While there are certain strains of E. coli you need to worry about, beneficial strains of this bacteria already live in your intestines. It aids in digesting your food and even helps prevent bad bacteria from taking up residence in your intestines.

But of course, some strains of E. coli are bad. These strains enter the bloodstream and give you food poisoning. Symptoms include intense stomach pains, vomiting, and diarrhea.

You can get food poisoning from E. coli by eating food that's been in contact with poop. Yes, it's disgusting, but this sort of thing happens. However, E. coli can also spread into milk from a cow's udders, which is why you should normally buy pasteurized dairy products.

Don't assume that fruits and vegetables are safe from E. coli contamination; they come in contact with animal feces too. There was a big scare in 2006 when it came out that tons of fresh spinach were laced with a particularly bad strain of E. coli.

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Yeah, all these facts about E. coli are nice and all, but most people just want to know how to avoid getting infected in the first place. So...

• Only eat WELL DONE hamburgers. Ground beef is highly susceptible to E. coli contamination.


• Wash your hands frequently, especially after going to the bathroom and handling raw meat.


• Thoroughly clean all fruits and vegetables. (Unfortunately this may not always be enough for leafy vegetables such as spinach.)


• Don't drink water from a river, lake, or pool. You never know who may have had an "accident" in there.