[Escherichia coli, a pathogen under fire from the news]

Escherichia coli is both a gastrointestinal tract commensal and a major pathogen. In recent years, E. coli is under fire from the news due to a better understanding of pathogenic factors, outbreaks of infections caused by enterohaemorrhagic strains, and last but not least, the worrying development of antibiotic resistance. Due to the absence of new compounds active against these strains, producing extended-spectrum ß-lactamases (ESBL) and frequently multiresistant to other antibiotics, their emergence will pose therapeutic problems for practitioners of all pediatric specialties. The gold standard treatment for severe infections due to ESBL-E. coli family is the penem class. The frequent use of penems promotes the emergence of strains resistant to carbapenems. Sparing carbapenems should be a clear objective for non life-threatening infections.