[FuzzyUK (OP)]

Hands up those people who don't wash after going to the toilet, have a meal immediately afterwards and suffer no ill effect. Yet we are led to believe that the dirty chef who never cleans his hands after wiping his ass in the restaurant down the road could put you in hospital with e-coli or some other obnoxious diesease.

[Don_1]

I recall when coming through France many moons ago, we stopped for a meal and two of my mates ordered the ofal sausage. Well, I don't know about the chef washing his hands after a visit to the bog, I think he just fried a couple of his turds and served them up. I've never come across any food which ponged so repulsive!!!

[FuzzyUK (OP)]

Yes but why are e-coli outbreaks considered extremely harmful when we have the bacteria in abundance in our own colons anyway?

[DrN]

There are many different strains of E.coli, with varying degrees of virulence, and I don't know, but I doubt very much that anyone has for example E.coli 0157 in their normal flora.

The other possible explanation is that the bacteria are harmless when in their 'correct' environment, but become harmful when they enter a different tissue or organ that is not adapted to deal with it. I can't give an E.coli example, because I don't know much about it, but enterococci are not considered pathogens because they normally reside in our intestines, but they can cause serious infections when they make their way into skin and soft tissue.