Characterization of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli isolated from U.S. troops deployed to the Middle East.
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) was a common cause of traveler's diarrhea in U.S. soldiers in the Middle East in 1989 and 1990. To determine which bacterial components would be useful in a vaccine, potential protective antigens (toxin, colonization factor antigen [CFA], and serotype) from 189 ETEC isolates were examined. Nearly half of the isolates expressed both ETEC toxins, 39% had only heat-stable enterotoxin (ST), and 17% had heat-labile enterotoxin (LT). CFA/I was the least common colonization factor antigen (11%), CFA/II was common (34%), as was CFA/IV (31%), and 24% expressed none of these CFAs. Fifty-seven O:H serotypes were found. Serotype O6:H16 was the most common, occurring in 29% of the ETEC isolates, usually with LT-ST and CFA/II. Generally, CFA/II was associated with expression of both toxins, CFA/IV was associated with expression of ST, and none of the CFAs was routinely found with LT. We conclude that ETEC from soldiers in the Middle East expressed a variety of antigens and that an effective vaccine will require multiple protective antigens.
Wolf
M K
MK
Department of Gastroenterology, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, DC 20307-5100.
Taylor
D N
DN
Boedeker
E C
EC
Hyams
K C
KC
Maneval
D R
DR
Levine
M M
MM
Tamura
K
K
Wilson
R A
RA
Echeverria
P
P
D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000382:microbiology*; D004534:Egypt; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008889:Military Personnel; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D012703:Serotyping
D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004768:Enterotoxins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C022924:colonization factor antigens; C034151:heat stable toxin (E coli); D036781:Fimbriae Proteins; C027538:heat-labile enterotoxin, E coli