Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli across Hosts

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli is a major cause of cholera like diarrhoea in travellers to, and children from developing countries. In developed nations, ETEC is a cause of food borne disease. Moreover, ETEC is responsible for diarrhoea and subsequent death of neonatal animals such as, suckling piglets, calves, lambs, camels and goat kids. ETEC usually exhibit their pathogenesis by elaborating plasmid encoded enterotoxins like a heat-labile toxin and/or a heat-stable toxin. ETEC have colonisation factor antigens or adhesive fimbriae that attach to the host intestinal epithelial cells promoting disease instigation and pathogenesis. Colonisation factors play a role in ETEC vaccine development. However, some ETECs lack a known colonisation factor or are otherwise afimbrial. In this study, we propose to investigate molecular epidemiology of Enterotoxigenic E. coli with an emphasis on toxin and colonisation factor diversity among strains from Humans and Animals. We also aim to determine the sero-groups and sequence types of ETECs from diverse hosts (mainly Humans, Pigs and ruminants). ETECs are sourced from four Kenyan Counties (Kakamega, Busia, Bungoma and Nairobi) between the years 2014-2020Study goals1. Investigate plasmids disseminating toxins, colonisation factors and antimicrobial resistance.2. Detect new colonisation factors in human and animal ETEC.3. Detect toxin variants in human and animal ETEC.