Table 1 Definition, host range and virulence properties of enteric and enterotoxaemic E. coli in animals and humans (from [1, 2, 4, 12–16])
Name (Acronym) * | Target host range | Diseases | Virulence | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Enteroinvasive (EIEC) | Humans, primates | Dysentery | Invasion of and multiplication in the enterocytes | Similar to Shigella sp. |
Enterotoxigenic (ETEC) | Pigs, ruminants, humans (more rarely dogs) | Traveller's diarrhoea; profuse neonatal diarrhoea in babies, calves and piglets; post-weaning diarrhoea in piglets | Fimbrial adhesins (F2 to F6, F17, F18, F41, ...); heat-stable (STa, STb) and heat-labile (LT1, LT2) enterotoxins | Â |
Enteropathogenic (EPEC) | Humans, all mammals | Diarrhoea | Attaching and effacing (AE) lesion; type 4 BFP fimbriae by typical (t) EPEC of humans | Localized adherence (LA) of tEPEC on cells in culture; LA-like adherence of atypical (a) EPEC at the cell surface |
Verotoxigenic or Shigatoxigenic (VTEC or STEC) * | Humans, piglets | Haemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) in humans; oedema disease in piglets | Verotoxins (Vtx); afimbrial (Saa by human or AIDA by porcine VTEC) and fimbrial (F18 by porcine VTEC) adhesins | Ruminants can be healthy carriers of human VTEC (= reservoir host) |
Enterohaemorrhagic (EHEC) * | Humans | (haemorrhagic) colitis and HUS in humans; diarrhoea in young calves | Vtx and AE lesion | Ruminants can be healthy carriers of human EHEC (= reservoir host) |
Enteroadherent or Enteroaggregative (EAEC or EAggEC) | Humans (sporadically in animals) | Diarrhoea | Human EAggEC: small fimbrial adhesins (AAF/Hda); toxins (Pet, EAST1, ShET1); transcriptional activator gene (aggR) | Aggregative "stacked brick" adherence (AggA) on cells in culture; animal EAggEC are different from human EAggEC |
Diffusely adherent (DAEC) | Humans, animals | Diarrhoea; extra-intestinal infections (urinary tract infections, septicaemia) | Diffuse adherence (DA) on cell culture mediated by adhesins of the AFimbrial Adhesin (AFA) family, or by AIDA adhesin | Â |
Necrotoxigenic (NTEC) | Humans, animals (NTEC1); ruminants (NTEC2) | Diarrhoea; extra-intestinal infections (urinary tract infections, septicaemia) | Cytotoxic Necrotizing Factors (CNF) 1 or 2; different fimbrial (Pap, Sfa and/or F17) and/or afimbrial adhesins (AFA family) | Â |