[Enteroadherent Escherichia coli (EAEC)].

Among the strains of Escherichia coli involved in the etiology of the diarrheal syndrome, several etiopathogenic entities were described. Of them, the strains of enteroadherent E. coli (EAEC) were isolated from about 25% of the patients suffering from an acute diarrheal disease, in which no other etiologies could be established. The present paper synthesizes data from the literature on: the importance of EAEC in the etiology of the acute diarrheal disease; the biotype-serotype-pathogenicity interrelationship; "pathogenicity mechanisms" in EAEC; methods of identifying the EAEC strains.