Area |
Health Science |
Lab name |
Enteric Reference Laboratory |
Lab location |
Wallaceville Science Centre, Upper Hutt |
Test name |
Escherichia coli shiga-toxin gene detection and serotyping |
Organisms |
E. coli |
Requested for surveillance |
yes |
Notice required |
no |
Routine turnaround time |
10 days |
Sample requirements |
Pure culture. Mixed cultures may be referred for toxin testing if VTEC infection is suspected and the case meets the specimen requirement criteria |
Specimen requirements |
Serum (~1 mL) collected within 7 days of illness onset Urine (~50 mL) collected within 15 days of illness onset |
Media requirements |
Nutrient agar slope for cultures |
Pre-transport requirements |
Ambient temperature |
Transport requirements |
Ambient temperature |
Unacceptable sample types |
Mixed cultures will not be tested |
How results reported |
E. coli isolate with stx gene(s): Serotype, stx subtype, and eae and hylA gene presence reported. stx negative: the isolate will be reported as negative for verocytotoxin. confirmed toxin positive but not isolated: reported as verocytotoxin positive. |
Referral link |