Age‐Related Susceptibility to Infection with Diarrheagenic<i>Escherichia coli</i>among Infants from Periurban Areas in Lima, Peru

Abstract

Diarrheagenic E. coli strains were more frequently isolated in samples from older infants. In this setting with high frequency of pathogen exposure and high frequency of breastfeeding, we hypothesize that the major age-related differences result from decreased exposure to milk-related protective factors and from increased exposure to contaminated food and water.