Intestinal infections caused by rod-shaped bacteria of the Enterobacteriaceae genus are one of the major health hazards in countries where sanitation standards are low. Strains of Shigella, Salmonella, Escherichia and Yersinia are responsible for diarrhea, severe bacillary dysentery, typhoid, other intestinal diseases, as well as genitourinary tract and blood infections. According to the WHO there are 4.5 billion cases every year, of which 1.9 million end in death. This makes intestinal infections third in terms of human disease mortality. In this work we discuss methods of pathogen identification, the mechanism of host-pathogen interaction, and the nature of the host's immunological response. Due to rising drug resistance we discuss the importance of better pathogen detection, vaccine design and the use of vaccines as a preventive measure against intestinal infections. Special attention is paid to OMP38, a protein isolated from S. flexneri 3a outer membrane. Since it is known that this protein has good immunogenic properties, it can be used as an antigen or carrier for conjugate vaccines.