The Journal of Medical Microbiology, Vol 38, Issue 3 222-226, Copyright © 1993 by Society for General Microbiology

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Examination of archetypal strains of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli for properties associated with bacterial virulence

R. M. Robins-Browne, W. C. Yam, L. E. O'Gorman and K. A. Bettelheim
Department of Microbiology, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.

Nine strains of Escherichia coli isolated from infants with diarrhoea between 1947 and 1960 and designated "enteropathogenic" were examined for phenotypic and genetic characters associated with virulence. Each strain belonged to a different serotype. All the isolates were historically significant in that they were amongst the first strains of E. coli reported to be causally associated with infantile diarrhoea. Five strains possessed the virulence properties of class I enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC). All these strains were isolated originally from symptomatic children during outbreaks of diarrhoea. Two isolates from sporadic cases of diarrhoea fulfilled the criteria for classification as class II EPEC. One strain was identified as enteroaggregative E. coli and the other carried no known virulence-associated properties. These findings indicate that most early isolates of E. coli which were designated "enteropathogenic" were indeed EPEC, as currently defined.

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