Scanning Electron Micrograph of Escherichia coli O157H7
![](images/10068_Ecoli_O157H7.jpg)
Image provided by Janice Haney Carr.
Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Escherichia coli O157H7 is a strain of E. coli produces a shiga-like toxin that kills epithelial cells of the large intestines causing hemorrhagic colitis, a bloody diarrhea. In rare cases, the shiga-toxin enters the blood and is carried to the kidneys where, usually in children, it damages vascular cells and causes hemolytic uremic syndrome. Note dividing bacilli.