Evaluation of a simplified HEp-2 cell adherence assay for Escherichia coli isolated from south Indian children with acute diarrhea and controls

Abstract

A simplified HEp-2 cell adhesion assay was performed with stored Escherichia coli isolates from 761 children with acute diarrhea and 531 matched controls, and the results were evaluated by means of fluorescent actin staining and hybridization with DNA probes. The prevalence rates of localized adherence and aggregative adherence were significantly higher for patients (9.9 and 7.6%, respectively) than for controls (3.7 and 3.9%, respectively).