How long after having ecoli will it still show up in tests?

Question

I ate tops' recalled burgers(recalled for ecoli) had bad stomach pains for about 10 days. Dr's never figured out exactly what was wrong with me after numerous tests. Severe pain ended a week ago and I feel fairly normal today. Could I still test for ecoli and if I had it a week ago would it show up? If this is what I had I'm looking to make tops pay for medical bills incurred.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/29/meat.recall/?iref=mpstoryview

Answer 1

E. coli is always in your stool. You need it there. It is the most abundant bacteria there. It is the strain O157:H7 that needs to be of concern. To diagnose it, a stool sample needs to be cultured and the presence of that strain needs to be isolated. If your doctor ordered a stool culture, that strain may not be detected because a special culture media needs to be used, which is not routinely used on stool cultures unless the labs protocol requires it. The doctor should order a culture for E. coli O157:H7. This strain can stay colonized in a persons gut unless they undergo antibiotic therapy. Sometimes the infection is self limiting and will clear up in about 2 weeks.