Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) in hospitalised Arab infants from Judea area—West Bank, Israel

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and other related enterotoxigenic species were isolated from 176 (44%) of 399 infants hospitalised in ‘Caritas Baby Hospital’ in Bethlehem, during April–December 1993. Ninety four of the patients infected by ETEC, were clinically evaluated. Most of them suffered from diarrhoea, quite often with fever and vomiting. Dehydration occurred in 58.3% of the patients and failure to thrive (FTT) in 28.5% of them. Severe illness resulted in marasmus in five patients and in the death of two others. Most of the ETEC strains (84%) were of ST toxin type. Correlation was found between the degree of toxigenity and the severity of the gastroenteritis. The most prevalent ETEC ‘O’ serogroups were 0–6, 0–20, 0–8, 0–86, 0–126, 0–128 and 0167. Colonization Factors Antigens (CFAs) were identified in 36% of the isolates, CFAI was characteristic of group 0–126 and 0–128. In the principal O-groups there were high percentages of sensitivity to the antibiotics ceftriaxone, nalidixic-acid, gentamicin and norfloxacin, with resistance to anoxycillin, tetracycline and cotrimoxazole.