biostudies-literatureFleckenstein JMBLRD VANIAID NIH HHSNational Institutes of HealthU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs709907https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9355458biostudies-literatureUnknown2The enterotoxigenic <i>Escherichia coli</i> (ETEC) are a diverse and genetically plastic pathologic variant (pathovar) of <i>E. coli</i> defined by their production of heat-labile (LT) and heat-stable (ST) enterotoxins. These pathogens, which came to recognition more than four decades ago in patients presenting with severe cholera-like diarrhea, are now known to cause hundreds of millions of cases of symptomatic infection annually. Children in low-middle income regions of the world lacking access to clean water and basic sanitation are disproportionately affected by ETEC. In addition to acute diarrheal morbidity, these pathogens remain a significant cause of mortality in children under the age of five years and have also been linked repeatedly to sequelae of childhood malnutrition and growFrontiers in tropical diseasesConfronting challenges to enterotoxigenic <i>Escherichia coli</i> vaccine development.PMC9355458R01 AI089894R01 AI126887I01 BX004825Fleckenstein JMfalseConfronting challenges to enterotoxigenic <i>Escherichia coli</i> vaccine development.The enterotoxigenic <i>Escherichia coli</i> (ETEC) are a diverse and genetically plastic pathologic variant (pathovar) of <i>E. coli</i> defined by their production of heat-labile (LT) and heat-stable (ST) enterotoxins. These pathogens, which came to recognition more than four decades ago in patients presenting with severe cholera-like diarrhea, are now known to cause hundreds of millions of cases of symptomatic infection annually. Children in low-middle income regions of the world lacking access to clean water and basic sanitation are disproportionately affected by ETEC. In addition to acute diarrheal morbidity, these pathogens remain a significant cause of mortality in children under the age of five years and have also been linked repeatedly to sequelae of childhood malnutrition and grow2021-01-01T00:00:00Z20212025-04-22T09:52:43.435Z2025-04-05T23:16:08.428ZS-EPMC93554583593771710.3389/fitd.2021.709907