Michael Smith Laboratories, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Clin Microbiol Rev. 2013 Oct;26(4):822-80. doi: 10.1128/CMR.00022-13.
Although Escherichia coli can be an innocuous resident of the gastrointestinal tract, it also has the pathogenic capacity to cause significant diarrheal and extraintestinal diseases. Pathogenic variants of E. coli (pathovars or pathotypes) cause much morbidity and mortality worldwide. Consequently, pathogenic E. coli is widely studied in humans, animals, food, and the environment. While there are many common features that these pathotypes employ to colonize the intestinal mucosa and cause disease, the course, onset, and complications vary significantly. Outbreaks are common in developed and developing countries, and they sometimes have fatal consequences. Many of these pathotypes are a major public health concern as they have low infectious doses and are transmitted through ubiquitous mediums, including food and water. The seriousness of pathogenic E. coli is exemplified by dedicated national and international surveillance programs that monitor and track outbreaks; unfortunately, this surveillance is often lacking in developing countries. While not all pathotypes carry the same public health profile, they all carry an enormous potential to cause disease and continue to present challenges to human health. This comprehensive review highlights recent advances in our understanding of the intestinal pathotypes of E. coli.
虽然大肠杆菌可以是胃肠道内无害的居民，但它也具有引起严重腹泻和肠道外疾病的致病能力。大肠杆菌的致病性变体（病原体或病原体类型）在全球范围内导致了很高的发病率和死亡率。因此，致病性大肠杆菌在人类、动物、食品和环境中得到了广泛研究。虽然这些病原体类型在定植肠道黏膜和引起疾病方面有许多共同特征，但病程、发病和并发症有很大差异。在发达国家和发展中国家，暴发很常见，有时会导致致命后果。由于许多病原体类型的感染剂量低，通过包括食物和水在内的普遍媒介传播，因此它们是一个主要的公共卫生关注点。专门的国家和国际监测计划监测和跟踪暴发，体现了致病性大肠杆菌的严重性；不幸的是，发展中国家往往缺乏这种监测。虽然并非所有病原体类型都具有相同的公共卫生特征，但它们都具有引起疾病的巨大潜力，并继续对人类健康构成挑战。本综述重点介绍了我们对大肠杆菌肠道病原体类型的理解的最新进展。
