TY - JOUR
T1 - Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli
T2 - Identification and characterization
AU - Sack, R. B.
PY - 1980/1/1
Y1 - 1980/1/1
N2 - Strains of enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), only recently recognized, are assuming a major role in our understanding of diarrheal diseases, particularly in the developing world. They are now known to be: one of the common causes of childhood diarrheas, usually of mild to moderate severity, in the developing world; a common cause of the cholera syndrome in native adults living in cholera-endemic areas; the most common identifiable cause of the diarrhea of travelers from developed countries who visit the developing world; an occasional cause of nursery outbreaks of diarrhea in developed countries; and an occasional cause of common source outbreaks of diarrhea secondary to fecal contamination of water and food. As these organisms are being isolated with increasing frequency from many laboratories in diverse geographic areas, there sometimes arises confusion about their identification and characterization. An attempt is made here to put in perspective our present understanding of these organisms, how they are isolated and characterized, and how they are related both to strains of E. coli that cause diarrhea by other mechanisms and to other enterotoxigenic organisms.
AB - Strains of enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), only recently recognized, are assuming a major role in our understanding of diarrheal diseases, particularly in the developing world. They are now known to be: one of the common causes of childhood diarrheas, usually of mild to moderate severity, in the developing world; a common cause of the cholera syndrome in native adults living in cholera-endemic areas; the most common identifiable cause of the diarrhea of travelers from developed countries who visit the developing world; an occasional cause of nursery outbreaks of diarrhea in developed countries; and an occasional cause of common source outbreaks of diarrhea secondary to fecal contamination of water and food. As these organisms are being isolated with increasing frequency from many laboratories in diverse geographic areas, there sometimes arises confusion about their identification and characterization. An attempt is made here to put in perspective our present understanding of these organisms, how they are isolated and characterized, and how they are related both to strains of E. coli that cause diarrhea by other mechanisms and to other enterotoxigenic organisms.
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U2 - 10.1093/infdis/142.2.279
DO - 10.1093/infdis/142.2.279
M3 - Review article
C2 - 6106031
AN - SCOPUS:0019305120
SN - 0022-1899
VL - 142
SP - 279
EP - 286
JO - Journal of Infectious Diseases
JF - Journal of Infectious Diseases
IS - 2
ER -