title: Identification by DNA hybridisation of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in homes of children with diarrhoea.
abstract: The DNA hybridisation technique to detect genes coding for Escherichia coli enterotoxin was used to identify enterotoxigenic E coli (ETEC) in homes of children with diarrhoea in Thailand. ETEC was found in 30 (14%) of 221 children with diarrhoea and in 9% (8/88) of their household contacts, 8% (8/101) of their neighbours, and 2% (32/1379) of inhabitants of 382 homes not associated with ETEC infections. ETEC was found significantly more often in water and food and on mothers' hands in homes of children with ETEC-associated diarrhoea and of their neighbours than in homes of children without ETEC infections (8/360 vs 3/2290; p less than 0.001). ETEC was identified in 80% (71/89) of specimens that hybridised with the enterotoxin gene probes by testing E coli isolated from the same specimen in the Y-1 adrenal and suckling-mouse assays. The DNA hybridisation assay to detect genes coding for E coli enterotoxin is an effective method of identifying ETEC in a large number of human and environmental specimens and will be a valuable tool to define further the epidemiology of this enteric pathogen.
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000235:genetics*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005796:Genes; D006801:Humans; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization
chemical_list: D004768:Enterotoxins