Gastrointestinal Infection Test Kit

For in vitro diagnostic use. RIDA®GENE EAEC is a multiplex real-time PCR for the direct, qualitative detection of enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) in human stool samples. RIDA®GENE EAEC multiplex real-time PCR is intended for use as an aid in diagnosis of gastroenteritis caused by enteroaggregative E. coli.

General information:

Escherichia coli (E. coli) are gram negative, facultatively anaerobic rod bacteria which move by peritrichal flagellation and belong to the Enterobacteriaceae family. E. coli are part of the normal intestinal flora of humans and many farm animals and are generally nonpathogenic. Some E. coli strains are pathogenic to humans through the acquisition of certain virulence factors (e.g. genes for toxins).

The six known intestinal pathogenic E. coli: enterohämorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC), enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) und diffusely adherent E. coli (DAEC) can be differentiated by the virulence factors.

Enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) were first identified and described in the stool of a child from Chile in 1987. The defining feature of EAEC is its characteristic aggregative adherence (AA) phenotype. In the gold standard HEp-2 cell adherence assay EAEC adhere to the epithelial cell surface in a “stacked-brick” formation. EAEC are defined as E. coli that do not secrete heat-labile or heat-stable enterotoxins and adhere to HEp-2 cells in an AA pattern. Certain EAEC strains carry a high molecular weight plasmid (pAA) associated with AA, on which a number of virulence genes (e.g. aggR, aggA, aafA, agg3 and aatA) are located.