Bacterial growth and toxin production in ileostomy effluents.

Escherichia coli (2), Vibrio cholerae (2) and Aeromonas sobria (1) strains were examined for their ability to grow and produce toxins in samples of ileostomy fluid. Three categories of response were observed: no detectable growth, growth without detectable toxin, and growth with detectable toxin. Clear differences were apparent between samples of ileostomy fluid obtained from different individuals and between samples obtained from the same individual at different times. The patterns of response were unique for each of the five test strains. We propose that the procedure developed forms a basis for investigating the host-parasite relationship in diarrhoeal disease.