Globally, about two million deaths occur every year, due to diarrheal illnesses among children less than 5 years of age. Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) is highly prevalent in both community and hospital settings and accounts for one of the main causes of persistent diarrhea in children in developing countries. EPEC remains underdiagnosed in India due to lack of conventional tool for identification.

A new study published in Biomedical Journal investigated the prevalence and regional variation of EPEC in pediatric population suffering from diarrhea in East Delhi, India.

This study entailed the collection of 200 stool samples from children, aged between 0.5-5 years, with acute diarrhea. E. coli were identified by conventional tests and PCR.

The findings showed that 7% atypical EPEC (aEPEC) and 2.5% typical EPEC (tEPEC), with an overall 9.5% EPEC prevalence amongst total samples. E. coli phylogenetic group A was the predominant pathogen. While the most common age group affected was 6-23 months—with common symptoms of vomiting, watery diarrhea and severe dehydration. Additionally, high drug resistance pattern was observed in EPEC isolates.

The results demonstrated a changing trend of aEPEC over tEPEC in children below 5 years of age with diarrhea – an emerging drug resistant enteropathogen and a public health concern demanding monitoring and surveillance.

Source: Biomedical Journal. 2020 Apr 21;S2319-4170(20)30043-3. doi: 10.1016/j.bj.2020.03.011.