It can take as few as 10 live bacteria in a undercooked patty of ground beef to spark an infection of the notorious hamburger bug, Escherichia coli O157:H7. Most strains of E. coli dwell peacefully within people, but O157:H7 explodes in the gut like a string of firecrackers.
Log in
Subscribers, enter your e-mail address for full access to the Science News archives and digital editions.