Abstract:

Recently, non-O157 shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, especially the top six non-O157 shiga toxinproducing
Escherichia coli serogroups that are named as “the Big Six” by the United States Department of Agriculture,
have been responsible for numerous outbreaks worldwide. These non-O157 STEC pose a severe threat to human health
and therefore has gained increasing global attention. “the Big Six” include E. coli O26, O45, O103, O111, O121 and O145
serogroups. Nowadays, little research has been reported on “the Big Six” in China. This article reviews recent outbreaks of “the
Big Six” and various methods applied to detect these pathogens.

Key words: non-O157 shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, outbreaks, detection methods