Clinical relevance of diarrheagenic E.coli detection

Abstract

Improving the detection of specific diarrheagenic E. coli types has not been the focus of clinical and scientific research. The need for this was not recognized, especially in the western world. Now, the importance of detection and identification has been recognized, mostly due to outbreaks of infections in the western world. The main problem is the fact that there is a large overlap (target genes and symptoms) between different E. coli types, which makes identification difficult. Because of these difficulties, the focus in the clinic has not been on linking specific E. coli to cases of diarrhea. This gap in clinical detection must be filled. This review covers the detection, pathogenesis and treatment of infections with diarrheagenic E. coli (DEC) types in humans, the different DEC types and new molecular tools that can be used for detection and identification, the implications for physicians and the treatment of patients and future challenges to fill this gap.