The .gov means it’s official. Most of the trillions of bacteria living in your gastrointestinal tract don't cause disease and are, in fact, necessary for optimal health. However, there are many differences exhibited between E Coli and Salmonella. E. coli is a type of bacteria that normally live in the intestines of people and animals. Diagonosis of E.coli To diagnose illness caused by E. coli infection, your doctor will send a sample of your stool to a laboratory to test for the presence of E. coli bacteria. We have all heard of E-coli and Salmonella contaminating our food, but have never been too fussed to find out what they actually are. Often, a bacterium must adhere very tightly to the cells and mediate its effects extracellularly, or it must find a way to invade the host's cells and survive intracellularly. E. coli is particularly dangerous to small children and the elderly who may not be able to tolerate the blood and fluid loss that accompanies E. coli. E Coli. The worst type of E. coli causes bloody diarrhea, and can sometimes cause kidney failure and even death. Although most E. coli strains are harmless, some can cause serious food poisoning through food contamination. When e.coli gets into other parts of the body, however, it can create serious health problems that can cause a variety of illnesses and symptoms. Before sharing sensitive information online, make sure you’re on a .gov or .mil site by inspecting your browser’s address (or “location”) bar. Both these gram-negative bacteria live in the intestines of animals and people. How to avoid food poisoning from E. coli and salmonella Fresh off the E. coli and salmonella outbreaks this spring, Shelley Rankin, professor of microbiology at the School of Veterinary Medicine, explains key differences between the bacteria—and what to do to avert them. However, some types of E. coli, particularly E. coli O157:H7, can cause intestinal infection.E. Differences between E.coli & Salmonella. Stomach or bowel disorders. Salmonella and E.coli are similar in the sense that they are both bacteria, but are in fact completely different types of bacteria. The symptoms caused by these bacteria usually resolve within a few days, but E. coli typically lasts a bit longer, plus, it can lead to life-threatening complication. Does E coli cause Salmonella? E. coli E. coli O157:H7, the pathogen most commonly associated with ground beef, causes an estimated 96,000 illnesses, 3,200 hospitalizations and 31 deaths in … The main difference between E Coli and salmonella is that E. coli is a type of commensal bacteria that commonly lives in the lower intestine of warm-blooded animals whereas Salmonella is a facultative, intracellular pathogen in both warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals.