Pathogenic Escherichia coli srains from dogs and cats: II clinical and bacteriological data on enteropathogenic E. Coli strains214

Clinical and bacteriological data on enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) isolated from dogs and cats between 1979 and 1993 were collected as follows: (i) case history; (ii) in vivo production of attaching and effacing lesions; (iii) bio- and serotyping; (iv) antibiotic sensitivity. The clinical data for 13 dogs and three cats, showed an association with gastrointestinal pathologies (acute diarrhea/enteritis, sometimes haemorhagic, or subacute recurrent diarrhea/enteritis), sometimes lethal, in young animals (< 3 months). The four strains studied in the rabbit ligated intestinal loop assay produced typical attaching and effacing lesions, although not consistantly. The biotypes of the 18 EPEC strains studied were classical of E. coli species, but for the production of an arginine dihydrolase (ADH), a test which was positive for 17 of them. On the other hand, none was haemolytic on sheep blood agar, nor was any serotypeable. Most of them were resistant to ampicillin and to the association amoxycilline/clavulanic acid