Detection of Escherichia coli alpha-haemolysin genes and their expression in a human faecal strain of Enterobacter cloacae.

Faecal samples of 200 infants were investigated for haemolytic Enterobacteriaceae. Forty infants were carrying alpha-haemolysin producing Escherichia coli, two carried haemolytic strains of Morganella morganii and one infant carried a haemolytic strain of Enterobacter cloacae. The M. morganii and E. cloacae strains were found to produce alpha-haemolysin which was tested with a specific monoclonal antibody and by DNA-hybridization with an alpha-haemolysin specific gene probe. To our knowledge this is the first report of alpha-haemolysin production found in a strain of E. cloacae.