What is it about?

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), one of the six diarrheagenic E. coli (DEC) pathotypes, is a major cause of diarrheal diseases among young children in developing countries. However, EPEC is prevalent not only patients but healthy peoples, domestic animals, and the products. This study is to know the source of EPEC being virulent to human.

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Why is it important?

The present study suggests that the etiologically important EPEC in diarrheal patients could be shared with bovine EPEC. In contrast, the EPEC strains in healthy humans were different from patient strains and some of these were also present in porcine samples.

Perspectives

From the viewpoint of intervention strategy, bovine aEPEC should be the targets to control the infection in human. EPEC strains carried by healthy adults seem not to be serious hazards as the causative agents.

Professor Yoshikazu Nishikawa
Tezukayamagakuin University

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Specific Properties of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Isolates from Diarrheal Patients and Comparison to Strains from Foods and Fecal Specimens from Cattle, Swine, and Healthy Carriers in Osaka City, Japan, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2012, ASM Journals,
DOI: 10.1128/aem.03380-12.
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