ETEC

Diarrheal diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality

Approximately 1.7 million people, primarily infants and children, perish from diarrheal diseases every year. For citizens of low–income countries diarrheal diseases are among the ten leading causes of death. Although many viral and bacterial pathogens cause diarrhea, enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) is prevalent in low–income nations where it is estimated to kill between 300,000 to 700,000 children and infants each year. Another 280 million people are sickened by ETEC annually including travelers from high income countries. Despite decades of research there are no FDA approved vaccines to prevent ETEC infections. Although some vaccines are currently under development and evaluation, at least one initially promising vaccine has failed in a large scale clinical trial. Genome plasticity and strain heterogeneity is a further obstacle to vaccine development. Thus, the prospects for ETEC vaccines are uncertain.

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