Evidence for enterotoxin production by a classic enteropathogenic serotype of Escherichia coli

Abstract

Isolates of classic enteropathogenic Escherichia coli O:128 that had been implicated in an outbreak of diarrhea in a hospital nursery were found to produce heat-stable enterotoxin after storage for six years. This finding indicated that enteropathogenicity and the ability to produce enterotoxin may coincide in E. coli, and further study of enteropathogenic strains that produce enterotoxin may help in elucidation of the relationship between enteropathogenic and enterotoxigenic E. coli.