Escherichia coli in Europe: An Overview

Nerino Allocati, Michele Masulli, Mikhail F. Alexeyev and Carmine Di Ilio
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Nerino Allocati: Department of Experimental and Clinical Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti I-66013, Italy
Michele Masulli: Department of Experimental and Clinical Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti I-66013, Italy
Mikhail F. Alexeyev: Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688, USA
Carmine Di Ilio: Department of Experimental and Clinical Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti I-66013, Italy

IJERPH, 2013, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-20

Abstract: Escherichia coli remains one of the most frequent causes of several common bacterial infections in humans and animals. E. coli is the prominent cause of enteritis, urinary tract infection, septicaemia and other clinical infections, such as neonatal meningitis. E. coli is also prominently associated with diarrhoea in pet and farm animals. The therapeutic treatment of E. coli infections is threatened by the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. The prevalence of multidrug-resistant E. coli strains is increasing worldwide principally due to the spread of mobile genetic elements, such as plasmids. The rise of multidrug-resistant strains of E. coli also occurs in Europe. Therefore, the spread of resistance in E. coli is an increasing public health concern in European countries. This paper summarizes the current status of E. coli strains clinically relevant in European countries. Furthermore, therapeutic interventions and strategies to prevent and control infections are presented and discussed. The article also provides an overview of the current knowledge concerning promising alternative therapies against E. coli diseases.

Keywords: Escherichia coli; Gram-negative bacteria; pathotype; multidrug resistance; epidemiology; phage therapy; antimicrobial peptides; combination therapy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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