Use of New Markers for Precise Detection of Pathogenic Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli.

The USDA-FSIS has indicated that only ~10% of beef trim samples that contain stx, eae, and a serogroup gene can be culture confirmed. Newly commercialized virulence-associated biomarkers that are present in potentially pathogenic eae-positive STEC may reduce the number of non-culture confirmable PCR screening results and increase the reliability of STEC screening assays.