Diarrheagenic E. coli are a common cause of infant diarrhea in developing countries, but their impact 
in pediatric infectious diarrhea in industrialized nations remains unclear. The aim of the current study 
was to isolate E. coli strains from stool specimens of gastroenteritis kids. The study includes children 
below 5years old, whose main complaint was acute diarrhea, characterized by the occurrence of three 
or more, loose, liquid, or watery stools in a 24h period in addition to one or more symptoms of 
diarrhea, (nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps or fecal urgency). This study was carried out in the 
Microbiology and Immunology department, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, in the period 
from May 2017 to December 2018. Stool samples were collected in sterile bottles and the stool 
characters (loose, watery, formed, a mucoid appearance, or bloody) were reported. Stool specimens 
were directly streaked onto Mac-Conkey agar (Difco, Detroit, Mich.) for isolation of E. coli. The 
identities of these isolates as E. coli were confirmed by different biochemical tests. E. coli isolates 
only were included. Antimicrobial susceptibility to the most common antibiotics was performed in the 
study isolates.