Trending Topics in Escherichia coli Research: The Latin American Perspective

The Latin American region has been at the forefront in combating infections caused by Escherichia coli strains in humans, animals, and the environment. The continuous emergence and evolution of pathogenic E. coli strains associated with human and animal infections have demonstrated that (i) groups of related pathogenic E. coli are responsible for most infections caused by this bacterial species; (ii) diverse virulence phenotypes expressed during infection defined each one of these pathogroups; (iii) the geographical distribution of pathogroups in Latin America and the evolution of new isolates was defined by the dominant pathogroup and presence of distinct virulence strains; (iv) acquisition of mobile elements or accumulation of point mutations accelerate the development of antibiotic resistance in some of these strains.

The Latin American Coalition for Escherichia coli Research (LACER), a multidisciplinary network of over seventy research groups in eleven Latin American countries and the USA, was established in 2009 to apply One Health principles in defining and combating this pathogen. The previous edition of this text, Escherichia coli in the Americas (c. 2016) was the culmination of their wisdom about E. coli, from its role as a commensal bacterium to its characteristics as a pathogen causing disease in animals and humans.

This new edition presents recent advances and contextualizes all aspects of E. coli in a One Health perspective, from the environment, to animals, to humans. It addresses E. coli interactions with host microbiota, CNS, and phages. It includes cutting edge insights on hybrid strains, molecular mechanisms of virulence and pathogenesis, resistance, domestic and wild reservoirs, disease surveillance in Latin America, genomic analysis, food safety, and new therapies. Crucially, it also provides translations and analysis of key reports on Escherichia coli published in Spanish and Portuguese. This book serves as a critical resource for scientists in industry and academia, clinicians managing associated infections, and trainees and students studying basic and clinical aspects of E. coli pathogenesis.