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Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1993 Apr;31(4):851–856. doi: 10.1128/jcm.31.4.851-856.1993

Characterization of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli isolated from U.S. troops deployed to the Middle East.

M K Wolf 1, D N Taylor 1, E C Boedeker 1, K C Hyams 1, D R Maneval 1, M M Levine 1, K Tamura 1, R A Wilson 1, P Echeverria 1
PMCID: PMC263576  PMID: 8463396

Abstract

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) was a common cause of traveler's diarrhea in U.S. soldiers in the Middle East in 1989 and 1990. To determine which bacterial components would be useful in a vaccine, potential protective antigens (toxin, colonization factor antigen [CFA], and serotype) from 189 ETEC isolates were examined. Nearly half of the isolates expressed both ETEC toxins, 39% had only heat-stable enterotoxin (ST), and 17% had heat-labile enterotoxin (LT). CFA/I was the least common colonization factor antigen (11%), CFA/II was common (34%), as was CFA/IV (31%), and 24% expressed none of these CFAs. Fifty-seven O:H serotypes were found. Serotype O6:H16 was the most common, occurring in 29% of the ETEC isolates, usually with LT-ST and CFA/II. Generally, CFA/II was associated with expression of both toxins, CFA/IV was associated with expression of ST, and none of the CFAs was routinely found with LT. We conclude that ETEC from soldiers in the Middle East expressed a variety of antigens and that an effective vaccine will require multiple protective antigens.

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Selected References

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