Explore the recorded discovery and history of Escherichia coli, with source links and stated limits.
E. coli can live in the human intestine. Most kinds are harmless, while some cause illness. This profile covers diarrheagenic strains: disease potential and symptoms depend on the strain, rather than the species name alone.
Escherich describes the organism then called Bacillus coli commune, later renamed Escherichia coli. Identification of a gut bacterium does not identify the first person infected by a disease-causing strain.
Dunne and colleagues report the complete genome of NCTC 86, Escherich’s original strain. It is a commensal isolate; its history should not be assigned to all pathogenic E. coli strains.
These references do not establish the first person ever infected by pathogenic E. coli. Different strains and outbreaks have different histories; no species-wide patient zero is assigned here.
Source check: 2026-09-19. Educational content; independent scientific review remains pending.