Detection and isolation of Escherichia coli with a coding gene for enteroaggregative Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin 1 from food and comparison with fecal isolates.

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin 1 (EAST1) was originally regarded as a putative enterotoxin of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli. Although its etiological role has not yet been elucidated, it has been epidemiologically suggested that some strains of E. coli possessing EAST1-coding gene (astA) but no other identifiable pathogenic properties comprise a new group of diarrhea-associated E.