ETEC detection by TaqMan Array Card in ETVAX

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a leading cause of childhood and travelers’ diarrhea. The vaccine candidate ETVAX encompasses several ETEC colonization factors (CFs) with a hybrid LT (heat-labile toxin)/Cholera toxin B subunit (LCTBA), adjuvanted with a double-mutant LT (dmLT). Stool samples were collected from the participants in OEV123, a Phase 2b randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial among Finnish travelers to Benin, West Africa. Nucleic acids were extracted using QIAamp Fast DNA Stool mini kit, then tested on a PCR-based customized TaqMan Array Card (TAC) including three ETEC toxin genes (LT and heat-stable toxins, STh and STp) and 18 ETEC CFs.