TY - JOUR AU - Muhammad Musthafa Poyil AU - Ponmurugan Karuppiah AU - Suresh S. S. Raja AU - P. Sasikumar PY - 2022/03/31 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Isolation, Extraction, and Characterization of Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 from Diarrheal Stool Samples JF - Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences (SJMS) JA - Sudan JMS VL - 17 IS - 1 SE - Original Research Article DO - 10.18502/sjms.v17i1.10689 UR - https://knepublishing.com/index.php/SJMS/article/view/10689 AB - Background: Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection causes hemorrhagic colitis and is diagnosed based on symptoms such as cramps, stomach pain, and watery diarrhea. Shiga-like toxins (Verotoxin) produced by Escherichia coli O157:H7 damages endothelial cells of both kidney and brain, causing renal dysfunction and neurological problems.Methods: The present study focuses on identifying the prevalence of Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 among diarrheal inpatients at Erode Government Hospital, India, and its antibiogram. Further, the Verotoxins were characterized by using SDS-PAGE analysis. A total of 123 samples were collected both from diarrheal stools, and strains from 37 samples (43.02 %) were found to have the presence of E. coli.  The organisms were identified based on their colony morphology on various media, cell morphology, and biochemical tests. The Shiga-like toxin production was identified by non-fermentation of sorbitol on SMAC agar plates. Confirmation of Shiga-like toxin was performed using agglutination assay. Results: In total, 12 isolates showed agglutination and these isolates were confirmed to be E. coli O157:H7. The molecular weight of the Verotoxin was found to be between 20 and 29 kD. The antibiogram profile of the four isolated strains against 10 standard antibiotics was determined.Conclusion: The results of this study show the occurrence of drug resistance on hemorrhagic colitis causing E. coli O157:H7. ER -