Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) are quite heterogeneous category of an emerging enteric pathogen associated with cases of acute or persistent diarrhea worldwide in children and adults, and over the past decade has received increasing attention as a cause of watery diarrhea, which is often persistent. EAEC infection is an important cause of diarrhea in outbreak and non-outbreak settings in developing and developed countries. Recently, EAEC has been implicated in the development of irritable bowel syndrome, but this remains to be confirmed.
Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) are the most common bacterial pathogens implicated in diarrhea worldwide. Diarrheagenic pathotypes recognized to date include enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), which are characterized by producing heat-labile or heat-stable or both enterotoxins, enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), which are characterized by attaching-and effacing-(A/E) lesions and shiga-like toxin or verotoxins, enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), which elicit characteristic attaching and effacing lesions on the intestinal mucosa, enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC), which has the ability to invade epithelial cells similar to Shigella and is characterized by the presence of a large invasiveness plasmid, diffusely adherent E. coli (DAEC) demonstrates pattern of diffuse adherence, and enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC), which demonstrate a characteristic “stacked-brick” aggregative adherence when cultured with HEp-2 cells.
EAEC is increasingly recognized as an emerging enteric pathogen and cause of persistent diarrhea and malnutrition in children and HIV-infected persons living in developed countries. It is the second most common cause of traveler's diarrhea, and is a common cause of acute diarrheal illness in children and adults presenting to emergency departments and inpatient units in the USA.
Resources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2837894/
Enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC)
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