Narrative review highlights food-borne transmission routes of extra-intestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli, indicating animal reservoirs pose persistent risks to human health.
Key Points
Summarize current evidence regarding the ecology, animal reservoirs, and food-borne transmission routes of extra-intestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) and their associated public health risks.
Reviewed published literature on ExPEC reservoirs across food-producing and companion animals.
Analyzed epidemiological and microbiological evidence linking contaminated food pathways to clinical human extra-intestinal infections.
ExPEC strains drive severe clinical burdens in humans, prominently causing urinary tract infections, neonatal meningitis, and bacteremia, while concurrently driving substantial economic losses in livestock husbandry.
Food-producing and companion animals represent confirmed bacterial reservoirs, and food represents a viable transmission vehicle, though quantitative risk levels and precise infection chains remain incompletely defined.