Diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli from routine diagnostic faecal samples in England and Wales

There are five established groups of Escherichia coli known to be associated with infectious intestinal disease (IID): verocytotoxin-producing E. coli (VTEC), enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC) and enteroaggregative E. coli (EAggEC) (Kaper et al., 2004). In the UK, VTEC O157 are identified by their inability to ferment sorbitol. However, phenotypically nonO157 VTEC and the other diarrhoeagenic E. coli (DEC) are more difficult to distinguish from non-pathogenic E. coli, and are not detected routinely.