Escherichia coli in gastroenteritis of children in London and Jamaica.

The jejunal and stool flora of children with gastroenteritis in London and in Jamaica was examined. Although bacterial colonization of the small bowel was commonly detected, it was unusual to find the same serotype of E. coli in both jejunum and stool, and none of the jejunal strains of E. coli produced either heatlabile or heat-stable enterotoxin. Some strains of E. coli causing infant gastroenteritis are neither toxigenic nor invasive, and other mechanisms must be sought to account for their pathogenicity.