Natural infection with an attaching and effacing Escherichia coli in a diarrheic puppy

Enteric infection with an attaching and effacing Escherichia coli was diagnosed in a puppy with protracted diarrhea. Extensive colonization of the small intestinal mucosa was observed by light and scanning electron microscopy and characteristic lesions of bacterial attachment of the brush border of the enterocytes were demonstrated by transmission electron microscopy. The E. coli strain isolated from the small intestine belonged to serotype O49:H10, did not produce any known E. coli enterotoxin or cytotoxin, was not invasive, and was negative for the known fimbrial colonization factors produced by animal and human enterotoxigenic E. coli. A positive immunoperoxidase reaction was obtained on the bacteria attached to the enterocytes with an anti-E. coli O49 antiserum.