ISOLATION AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF Escherichia coli PATHOTYPES FROM LETTUCE PLANTS ISOLATED FROM OGUDU, LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

📄 Project Abstract

Recently, there has been an increase in the consumption of vegetables such as lettuce worldwide in a bid to maintain a healthy diet. However, along with this increase is an increase in reports of foodborne outbreaks. The common pathogen associated with these outbreaks reported is the bacteria, Escherichia coli. Consumption of lettuce contaminated with this pathogenic E. coli could result in several manifestations of Diarrhea and in severe cases Hemorrhagic colitis. Research has been ongoing in the isolation and characterization of this pathogen in lettuce samples and samples from infected patients in various parts of the world. Nevertheless, there has not been notable research done in the isolation and characterization of this pathogen in Africa, specifically, Nigeria considering the severity of infections caused by it. Data has also shown that most cases reported in Nigeria have not been related to the ingestion of food products from non-bovine origin such as lettuce. As a result, thi...