A 1-year prospective study was carried out in two large urban centers of São Paulo State, Brazil, to determine the prevalences and roles of the different Escherichia coli pathotypes in children less than 5 years of age with diarrhea presenting to the emergency rooms of public hospitals or visiting private pediatricians' offices. Of the pathotypes sought, typical enteroaggregative and atypical e...

Diarrhea caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria is an important public health problem among children in developing countries. The prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli in 346 children under 5 years of age in Ifakara, Tanzania, were studied. Thirty-eight percent of the cases of diarrhea were due to multiresistant enterotoxigenic E. coli, enteroaggregative ...

The main features of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) pathogenesis include attachment of bacteria to the intestinal mucosa, production of various toxins and cytotoxins, and stimulation of mucosal inflammation. 'Virulence' genes encode these features. Comparison of different EAEC isolates has shown that the virulence gene content of these isolates varies considerably. The heterogeneity ...

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the predominant nonpathogenic facultative flora of the human intestine [1]. However, several strains of E. coli have developed the ability to cause disease in humans. Strains of E. coli that cause gastroenteritis in humans can be grouped into six categories: enteroaggregative (EAEC), enterohemorrhagic (EHEC), enteroinvasive (EIEC), enteropathogenic (EPEC), enteroto...

The large outbreak occurred in Germany during Summer 2011 associated to the consumption of sprouts was caused by a VTEC strain which possessed atypical characteristics, and did not fit the current definition of pathogenic VTEC. In fact, the epidemic strain did not possess the eae gene, encoding the adherence factor intimin, but possessed genes that are typical of the Enteroaggregative Escherich...

Although part of the normal gut flora, Escherichia coli strains are also important intestinal pathogens. Diarrheagenic E. coli (DEC) cause a wide variety of gastrointestinal diseases, particularly among children in developing countries, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality (Moyo, 2007; Khairun, 2007; Brandal, 2007; Nguyen, 2005; Rajendran, 2010; Franzolin, 2005). The DEC are differe...

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) are causative agents of diarrhea, being characterized by aggregative adherence to cultured epithelial cells. In this study, phenotypic properties of EAEC were analyzed with respect to AA, hemagglutination, clump and biofilm formation, all of which are mediated by aggregative adherence fimbriae (AAF). The strains were also screened for AAF types, AAF adh...

The Escherichia coli strain causing a large outbreak of haemolytic uraemic syndrome and bloody diarrhoea in Germany in May and June 2011 possesses an unusual combination of pathogenic features typical of enteroaggregative E. coli together with the capacity to produce Shiga toxin. Through rapid national and international exchange of information and strains the known occurrence in humans was quic...