Open AccessSerotypes of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Isolated in the United States
Author(s) -
M I I John DeBoy,
I K Wachsmuth,
B. R. Davis
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
infection and immunity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.508
H-Index - 220
eISSN - 1070-6313
pISSN - 0019-9567
DOI - 10.1128/iai.29.2.361-368.1980
Subject(s) - enterotoxigenic escherichia coli , serotype , enterotoxin , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , antigen , escherichia coli , toxin , heat stable enterotoxin , virology , immunology , gene , genetics
Strains of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli isolated from humans in the United States were found in 11 of 16 serotypes that previously were documented in the international literature as associated with enterotoxin production. Of 68 strains belonging to these 11 serotypes, 28 (41%) were enterotoxigenic; none of 46 strains belonging to 5 other previously implicated serotypes was enterotoxigenic. Control cultures of various serotypes were selected for comparison and found to contain 0 to 7% enterotoxigenic E. coli. E. coli belonging to documented enterotoxin-associated serotypes, characterized by both O and H antigens, were selected for toxin testing to determine their prevalence and potential pathogenicity in this country. In this study, a strain possessing any combination of an enterotoxin-associated serotype O antigen and H antigen was more likely to be enterotoxigenic than strains possessing only the specific O antigen or H antigen or neither. Five E. coli strains belonging to undocumented enterotoxin-associated serotypes did contain a combination of previously reported enterotoxin-associated serotype O and H antigens and did produce enterotoxin.