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  2. Enough With the E. coli Conservatism Line

Enough With the E. coli Conservatism Line

By mikethemadbiologist on July 19, 2007.

E.coli_4
Why can't you be nice to me?*

Look, I realize that Rick Perlstein's phrase 'E. coli conservatism' is a catchy way to describe the continuing breakdown of the national infrastructure. But that phrase bugs the crap out of me (pun intended).

I've noted before that most E. coli are harmless commensals--overwhlemingly, they do not cause disease. If they did, we would be sick all the time. Except immediately after certain kinds of antibiotic therapy, humans always have high concentrations of E. coli (around 1,000,000,000 per gram of poop, give or take a zero). Some cause disease, but there are always a few bad apples (and bottles of apple juice, and heads of lettuce...)

I bring this up, not only to talk about one of my favorite microbes, but because basic biological literacy matters. Granted, it's a good line, but still, it bugs me: stop slandering a perfectly good bacterium.

*Actually, this is E. coli O157:H7, and actually is a nasty bug. On the other hand, it's very purple.

Tags
Conservatives
E. coli
humor
microbiology

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The comment written by Frank seems, well, like someone speaking on behalf of red state e. coli. The biggest problem with e. coli, is us and the microbe(s) per see. Check out the article on my website titled "E. coli and the future health of America" - www.paleobioticslab.com

The idea is likely reinforced by health departments that test for E. coli prior to issuing certificates of potability to homes on individual wells. Even if they explain that the test, if positive, only means that if these things are in your water, consider what else (which may be more difficult and expensive to measure) might be in there too.