Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli: foe or innocent bystander?
Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) remain one the most important pathogens infecting children and they are one of the main causes of persistent diarrhoea worldwide. Historically, typical EPEC (tEPEC), defined as those isolates with the attaching and effacement (A/E) genotype (eae(+)), which possess bfpA(+) and lack the stx(-) genes are found strongly associated with diarrhoeal cases. However, occurrence of atypical EPEC (aEPEC; eae(+)bfpA(-)stx(-)) in diarrhoeal and asymptomatic hosts has made investigators question the role of these pathogens in human disease. Current epidemiological data are helping to answer the question of whether EPEC is mainly a foe or an innocent bystander during infection.
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
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Hu
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA; Department of Pathology and Sealy Center for Vaccine Development, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA. Electronic address: altorres@utmb.edu.
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Torres
D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D054308:Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans
D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins
Asymptomatic pathogenic Escherichia coli; atypical EPEC; diarrhoea; enteropathogenic Escherichia coli; epidemiology