Enterotoxins, colonization factors, serotypes and antimicrobial resistance of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains isolated from hospitalized children with diarrhea in Bolivia.

Unlabelled: Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is recognized as the main cause of bacterial diarrhoea among children in Asia, Africa and Latin America but less investigated in Bolivia.

Objective: To determine the relation between enterotoxins, CFs and serotypes as well as the antimicrobial resistance patterns in a set of ETEC isolates collected from hospitalized children with acute diarrhea. In the present study we characterized 43 ETEC strains isolated from 2002 to 2006 from hospitalized children (0-5 years) with acute diarrhea in Bolivia.