Enterotoxigenic and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli in Galicia (north-west Spain)

We have studied the incidence of enterotoxigenic and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli strains associated with infant diarrhoeal disease in Galicia (North-west Spain). During a period of 9 months we isolated heat-labile enterotoxin-positive strains in 2.1% of children with diarrhoea examined, whereas the production of heat-stable enterotoxin was detected in 1.1% of them. Enteropathogenic strains were isolated from 5.3% of the children with diarrhoea, but none of these strains released heat-labile or heat-stable enterotoxins.