This bacterium elaborates one or more enterotoxins that cause intestinal secretion and diarrhea. The incubation period, symptoms, and duration of diarrhea described for persons involved in this outbreak are characteristic of ETEC infection. Therefore, if the characteristics of a diarrheal illness are suggestive of a bacterial etiology but routine stool cultures are negative for common bacterial and viral enteropathogens, ETEC should be strongly suspected as the etiologic agent. Local health departments can arrange to have stools tested for ETEC at the state public health laboratory or at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Because the duration of illness is short, ETEC infections generally do not require antibiotic therapy.
Treatment is mainly supportive including oral or intravenous fluids for rehydration.
ETEC infection may cause dehydration but there are generally no serious complications or long-term sequelae from this infection. Patients should be reminded to wash their hands with warm running water and soap after using the bathroom and before and after eating to avoid transmitting the infection to others. They should tell friends who might have attended other parties at which food from Restaurant A was served to call the local health department to report cases of illness. Human and animal wastes are the ultimate source of ETEC contamination. Travelers in developing countries should avoid foods that could be contaminated with bacteria.