Extraintestinal PathogenicEscherichia coli

Abstract

Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) possesses virulence traits that allow it to invade, colonize, and induce disease in bodily sites outside of the gastrointestinal tract. Human diseases caused by ExPEC include urinary tract infections, neonatal meningitis, sepsis, pneumonia, surgical site infections, as well as infections in other extraintestinal locations. ExPEC-induced diseases represent a large burden in terms of medical costs and productivity losses. In addition to human illnesses, ExPEC strains also cause extraintestinal infections in domestic animals and pets. A commonality of virulence factors has been demonstrated between human and animal ExPEC, suggesting that the organisms are zoonotic pathogens. ExPEC strains have been isolated from food products, in particular from raw meats and poultry, indicating that these organisms potentially represent a new class of foodborne pathogens. This review discusses various aspects of ExPEC, including its presence in food products, in animals used for food or as companion pets; the diseases ExPEC can cause; and the virulence factors and virulence mechanisms that cause disease.

Environmental adaptation and vertical dissemination of ESBL‐/pAmpC‐producing Escherichia coli in an integrated broiler production chain in the absence of an antibiotic treatment

“…fimC, iha, tsh, ireA, neuC, astA, irp2, vat, iucD, chuA, iss) could not be statistically significant linked to a particular type of pathogenicity, but were also detected in strains from healthy hosts. Therefore, some of these factors are increasingly termed as ‘fitness factors’ because they contribute to a successful colonization and enhanced survival in the gut and the environment but not necessarily cause diseases (Smith et al ., 2007; Frommel et al ., 2013; Wigley, 2015; Vila et al ., 2016). ESBL‐/pAmpC‐producing E. coli from healthy hosts were usually classified as commensal strains but recent investigations found out that these resistant strains also show characteristics of ExPEC or ExPEC‐like strains and, therefore, have the ability for an enhanced colonization of the gut.…”

Molecular detection of transcriptionally active bacteria from failed prosthetic hip joints removed during revision arthroplasty

“…Caulobacter species show similar taxonomy to Brevundimonas species [46], so may belong to the same genera and, as already discussed, Brevundimonas as well as other bacterial species including Dermacoccus and Bradyrhizobium have been identified within aortic aneurysms by 16S rRNA gene sequencing [35]. Escherichia coli is one of the many species living in the intestine of humans and can cause intestinal and extra-intestinal infections, including urinary tract infections, meningitis, peritonitis, mastitis, septicaemia and gram-negative pneumonia [47]. Escherichia coli has never been reported to be associated with hip joint infections, but its identification in our current study is not surprising due to its close association with other human infections.…”

Annual report of the Emerging Risks Exchange Network 2013

“…ExPEC strains are phylogenetically and epidemiologically distinct from commensal and intestinal pathogenic strains. They do not produce enteric disease; however, they can asymptomatically colonize the human intestinal tract and may be the predominant strain in circa 20% of normal individuals (Smith et al, 2007). The normal route of ExPEC infection in humans is considered to be sporadically caused by bacteria that originate from the host's intestinal tract.…”