Course of disease in EPEC infection

The course of disease in EPEC infection is highly variable. There is an incubation period before the first symptoms appear. This can last from a few hours to days.

The exact duration of the incubation period depends on a number of factors: The disease can be completely asymptomatic – i.e. without the person affected even noticing it – but it can also lead to severe courses with massive dehydration and fatal outcome. This can also lead to bloody diarrhea. Even in the industrialized nations, the infectiousness of the disease repeatedly leads to waves of the disease in infant wards.

However, the disease has become relatively rare in industrialized countries. In developing countries in particular, EPEC infections sometimes contribute significantly to infant mortality.

The composition of the intestinal flora, the immune system of the infected person, eating habits and the ingested dose of EPEC bacteria can all play a role.

EPEC – bacteria are found in the intestines of infected people.

But the bacteria can also multiply in different animals. That is why farms are an important reservoir of the bacteria. For an infection, EPEC – bacteria usually have to be ingested through the mouth.

This can happen through contaminated water or food. Infected persons can also spread the bacteria through direct contact. Washing hands or disinfection after going to the toilet can thus limit the spread.

Boiling off water and food is therefore an important protective measure when hygiene is unsafe.

Yes, the detection of EPEC pathogens in the laboratory (i.e. by examination of submitted stool samples) is subject to notification. The sick person must therefore be reported by name to the public health department. Furthermore, doctors are obliged to report suspected cases of infectious gastrointestinal disease (gastroenteritis), if the person concerned works in the food sector or if there are two or more cases of illness which are presumably related.

Ill children are not allowed to go to the daycare center as long as diarrhea symptoms persist. But even after the symptoms have subsided, meticulous hand hygiene is crucial. Even after the acute symptoms have subsided, the pathogens can still be excreted with the stool. The risk of contracting the disease is relatively high, especially in facilities such as daycare centers. Moreover, the managers of community facilities are also obliged to report by name to the public health department if diarrheal diseases occur in their facility.