Table 22.4.

Summary of Pathogenic E. coli Incidence and Epidemiology

Pathogenic E. Coli	Site of Infection	Associated Disease	Incidence	Target Population	Significant Transmission Route
ETEC	Small intestine	Travelers’ diarrhea, chronic childhood diarrhea (in developing countries)	16 U.S. outbreaks (1996–2003); prevalence 1.4% in patients with diarrhea; 79,420 cases of travelers’ diarrhea each year (in the U.S.)	International travelers and children in developing countries	Food (raw produce, street vendors) and water
EPEC	Small intestine	Infant diarrhea	Hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide	Children in developing countries	Water, infant formula
EHEC	Large intestine	Hemorrhagic colitis, HUS	110,000 cases and 61 deaths annually in the U.S.	All ages	Food (beef, produce), person-to-person, water, animals
EIEC	Large intestine	Dysentery	Low in developed countries	Children in developing countries	Water (rare), person-to-person
EAEC	Intestine	Watery diarrhea with or without blood in the stool, acute and chronic	Developed and developing countries	Children and adults, travelers	Food, water, person-to-person