DNA probe analysis of diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli: detection of EAF-positive isolates of traditional enteropathogenic E. coli serotypes among Bangladeshi paediatric diarrhoea patients.

Escherichia coli isolates from all surveillance patients less than or equal to 20 months of age seen for diarrhoea at the Dhaka Clinical Treatment Facility of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh between March 1 and August 31, 1988, were collected and hybridized with DNA probes to assess the potential importance of diarrhoeagenic E. coli among paediatric patients in Bangladesh. Of 396 patients evaluated, 18% were infected with enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) adherence factor (EAF)-positive E. coli, 23% were infected with enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), 9% were infected with Shiga-like toxin-positive E. coli, and 13% were infected with diffuse adhesiveness-positive E. coli. None were infected with enteroinvasive E. coli. Ten percent of patients were colonized with more than one type of potential diarrhoeagenic E. coli. The majority of EAF-positive isolates were of traditional EPEC O:H serotypes. Although this was not a case-control study, the large number of EPEC and ETEC, which are recognized enteric pathogens, suggests these organisms are important causes of diarrhoeal diseases in this pediatric population.