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Nov. 22

— NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A group of researchers believe they may have a handle on a vaccine that could prevent most cases of traveler's diarrhea.

Such a vaccine also could potentially cut down on as much as 80% of bacterial diarrhea cases in developing countries, Dr. James P. Nataro told Reuters Health.

The researchers are focusing on a specific protein found on the surface of some strains of Escherichia coli bacteria, said Nataro, of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.

"There are four categories of diarrhea-causing E. coli," Nataro said. The one commonly encountered in the US is responsible for the large outbreaks of food poisoning associated with contaminated hamburger.

The researchers report in the November issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation that a surface protein, which they named "dispersin," seems to help some strains of the bacteria cling to the inside of the intestines and penetrate the thick "mucous blanket" that protects the digestive tract.

The protein is found on "enteroaggregative" bacteria that are a major cause of persistent diarrhea among HIV-infected adults in Africa, and of infant diarrhea both in the US and abroad, Nataro said.

Dispersin is the first protein found that is common to many strains of enteroaggregative E. coli. In his group's collection of strains obtained from all over the world, dispersin was present in 80%, Nataro said.

"We are now making vaccine constructs," he said.

Nataro is hoping for a final product that protects against "the three top pathogens in traveler's diarrhea."

SOURCE: The Journal of Clinical Investigation 2002;110:1329-1337.

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