Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli strains as a cause of traveler's diarrhea: a case-control study.

To elucidate the importance of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAggEC) strains as a cause of traveler's diarrhea in Spanish travelers, a prospective case-control 1:1 study was done in a university hospital clinic for travelers. EAggEC strains were isolated from 23 of 165 case-patients and from 4 of 165 controls (P = .0003). In 16 patients, this was the only isolate recovered. Six of the EAggEC-positive isolates from the case-patients and 2 from the controls were positive for the enteroaggregative stable toxin type 1 gene. Other enteropathogens were also isolated. Shigella and enterotoxigenic E. coli strains showed significant differences between cases and controls (P = .0023 and P < .0001, respectively). Geographic distribution of the EAggEC strains was homogeneous, and the clinical symptom, secretory diarrhea, did not differ statistically with that for the enterotoxigenic E. coli strains. EAggEC strains are a cause of secretory diarrhea in Spaniards traveling to developing countries.