Traditional enteropathogenic Escherichia coli of infantile diarrhea.

Abstract

First described in 1885, Escherichia coli gradually emerged as a cause of infantile diarrhea. Currently, four pathogenic categories of diarrheagenic E. coli are recognized: enteropathogenic (EPEC), enterotoxigenic (ETEC), enteroinvasive (EIEC), and enterohemorrhagic (EHEC). Of these, ETEC and EPEC are important causes of pediatric diarrhea, especially in developing countries. ETEC strains are characterized by their production of well-defined heat-labile or heat-stable enterotoxins. In the absence of other identifying characteristics, EPEC strains have been identified by serotyping only; recent laboratory and clinical investigations have shown that these strains constitute a distinctive group..