Main description:

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.

Contents:

1. Interactions of pathogenic E. coli with microbiota. Marina Palermo (Argentina) (Maria Angla Jure (Argentina), Mauricio Farfan (Chile).
2. Phages and Escherichia coli. Paula Luchessi (Argentina) (Alejandra Kruger (Argentina), Leticia Bentancor (Argentina).
3. Shiga toxin and its effects on the central nervous system. Jorge Goldstein (Argentina), Alipio Pinto (Argentina), Ana B. Celi (Argentina).
4. New molecular mechanism of virulence and pathogenesis of E. coli. Fernando Navarro (Mexico) (Roberto Vidal (Chile), Antonio Serapio-Palacios (Canada), Mariano Larrazabal (Argentina), Nora Molina (Argentina).
5. ETEC and antimicrobial resistance. Enrique Joffre (Bolivia), Jeannete Zurita (Ecuador).6. Update about resistance and virulence in UPEC. Margarita Arenas (Mexico), Edwin Barrios (Mexico), Rodolfo Bernal (Mexico).
7. Emergence of E. coli Hybrid Strains. Tania Gomes (Brazil), Rodrigo Hernandez (Brazil), Ana C de Mello (Brazil), Oscar Gomes (USA), Ana Farfan (Colombia), Monica Arias (Colombia).
8. New concepts on domestic and wild reservoirs, and transmission of E. coli and its environment. Adriana Bentancor (Argentina), Claudia Piccini (Uruguay) Gabriel Trueba (Ecuador).
9. New aspects on bovine reservoirs for E. coli. Nora Lia Padola (Argentina) Analia Etcheverria (Argentina) Ana Umpierrez (Uruguay) Rosa Guillen (Paraguay), Eduardo Figueiredo (Brazil) Vinicius Castro (Canada).
10. New insights regarding animal surveillance in Latin America: the case of STEC and APEC. Nicolas Galarce (Chile) Indira Kudva (USA) (Terezinha Knoebl (Brazil).
11. Novel aspects on O157 vs non-O157 isolates. Mariel Sanso (Argentina), Juliana Gonzales (Argentina), Jimena Cadona (Argentina), Ana Bustamante (Argentina).
12. Beef products and interventions to reduce the presence of E. coli as a contaminant: Quantitative risk evaluation of suffering hemolytic uremic syndrome. Gerardo Leotta (Argentina), Mariana Cap (Argentina), Victoria Brusa (Argentina), Marcelo Signorini (Argentina), Sergio Vaudagna (Argentina), Marcos Sanchez Plata (USA).
13. E. coli in fresh vegetables and safety conditions. Lorena Luna (Mexico), Magaly Toro (Chile).
14. Genomic analysis of highly virulent E. coli strains from Latin America. Isabel Chinen (Argentina), Carolina Carbonari (Argentina), Gustavo Varela (Uruguay), Natalie Weiler (Paraguay).
15. WHO Critical Priority Escherichia coli in Latin America: A One Health Challenge for a Post-Pandemic World. Nilton Lincopan (Brazil), Lenin Maturrano (Peru), Luis Luna (Peru), Maria Munoz (Bolivia), Danny Fuentes-Castillo (Chile), Fernando Gonzales (Ecuador), Rafael Vignoli (Uruguay), Gabriel Gutkind (Argentina), Jose Di Conza (Argentina)
16. New therapeutic options for pathogenic E. coli. Roxane Piazza (Brazil), Maria Marta Amaral (Argentina), Flavia Sacerdoti (Argentina), Daniela Luz (Brazil), Alejandro Balestracci (Argentina)