Verotoxin/E.coli O157

[Michael Gaston]

It seems likely that the current rapid latex tests for O157 antigen don't
help in the diagnosis of verotoxin producing non-O157 E.coli.  I work for a
diagnostic company and we are thinking about developing an immunoassay for
verotoxins.  In the first instance this would probably be a
culture-confirmation test rather than a direct faecal screen.

However, its not clear to me whether a test for verotoxin would be of
sufficient diagnostic value to be useful in a clinical laboratory. If
anyone has experience of using such a test, home-brewed or otherwise, I'd
be greatly interested in their views.

Thanks in advance,

Mike