High technology diagnostics: detection of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, using DNA probes

A relatively new technique termed colony blot hybridization appears to be a reliable replacement for the ligated porcine gut loop assay previously used to detect stable toxin-B producing Escherichia coli. The highly reproducible blot assay enables screening of large numbers of isolants for the presence of E coli stable-B toxin genes, thus avoiding variations in phenotypic expression and poor repeatability inherent in the in vivo assays. Availability of this diagnostic test can aid practitioners in identifying enterotoxigenic E coli related disease in swine and in determining the benefits of vaccination programs.