Eight virulence factors associated with uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) were investigated in 204 clinical isolates of E. coli recovered from urine cultures at counts ≥10(5). The bacteria were classified into two groups according to the number of leukocytes in urine samples from which they were isolated: group I ≤8 leukocytes/hpf, 104 strains; group II >8 leukocytes/hpf, 100 strains. Two multiplex PCR systems were used to detect genes encoding adhesin P (pap), adhesin S (sfa), afimbrial adhesin I (afa), siderophore aerobactin (aer), alpha-hemolysin (hly), cytotoxic necrotizing factor type 1 (cnf1), and traT associated with serum resistance. The PAI marker for the virulence island identified in strains CFT072 and CVD432, a marker of enteroaggregative E. coli, was also investigated using PCR. The susceptibility profile of E. coli strains was determined by disk diffusion method. Ninety percent UPEC showed at least one of the virulence genes, the prevalence being traT (76%), aer (41%), PAI (32%), sfa (26%), pap (25%), cnf1 (18%), afa (6%), and hly (5%). There was no significant difference in the distribution of virulence genes between groups I and II. A significantly higher degree of virulence was detected in UPEC group II. The CVD432 gene was not detected in any of the UPECs. Fifty-nine percent of the strains were resistant to at least one of the antimicrobials that we tested; the most common being resistance to ampicillin (51%) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (44%).

Aims:  To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of Shiga toxin‐producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in cattle from Paraná State, southern Brazil. Methods and Results:  One hundred and seven faeces cattle samples were cultured on Sorbitol‐MacConkey agar. Escherichia coli colonies were tested for production of Shiga toxin using Vero‐cell assay. A high prevalence (57%) of STEC was found. Sixty‐four STEC were serotyped and examined for the presence of stx1, stx2, eae, ehxA and saa genes and stx2 variants. The isolates belonged to 31 different serotypes, of which three (O152:H8, O175:H21 and O176:H18) had not previously been associated with STEC. A high prevalence of stx2‐type genes was found (62 strains, 97%). Variant forms found were stx2, stx2c, stx2vhb, stx2vO111v/OX393 and a form nonclassifiable by PCR‐RFLP. The commonest genotypes were stx2ehxA saa and stx1stx2ehxA saa. Conclusions:  A high frequency of STEC was observed. Several strains belong to serotypes previously associated with human disease and carry stx2 and other virulence factors, thus potentially representing a risk to human health. Significance and Impact of the Study:  This is the first study of STEC in Paraná State, and its findings emphasize the need for proper cattle handling to prevent human contamination.

The presence of subAB was investigated for 3,453 Escherichia coli strains of various pathogenic categories. The occurrence of other virulence genes in subAB-positive strains was investigated. The subAB operon was detected among some Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) serotypes devoid of eae and carrying ehxA. Most subAB-positive strains also harbored stx 2 , iha, saa, and lpfA O113 .Subtilase cytotoxin, a new member of the AB 5 toxin family, was identified for the first time in 2004 in a virulent O113:H21 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strain that caused an outbreak of hemolytic-uremic syndrome in South Australia (16,18). The presence of subAB genes was further detected in other STEC strains belonging to different serotypes (19). Subsequently, subAB genes were identified among STEC strains isolated in other countries (3,8,9,14,25).To evaluate how widely distributed the subAB operon is, we studied a large collection of STEC serotypes from nonhuman sources and E. coli strains of different pathogenic categories associated with human infections. The subAB-positive strains were further characterized regarding the presence of other virulence genes.A total of 2,255 E. coli strains isolated from humans and belonging to enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC), enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC), extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC), and E. coli strains not belonging to the diarrheagenic categories described so far were randomly selected. STEC strains isolated in Brazil from humans have previously been tested for the presence of subAB by our group (3). The 1,198 STEC strains from nonhuman sources were isolated from dairy cattle, beef cattle, buffaloes, and goats. Overall, 109 different STEC serotypes were tested. An STEC strain of serotype O113:H21 (3) was used as a reference strain for subAB, cdt-V, and lpfA O113 , and E. coli strain DH5␣ was used as a negative control.The strains were screened for the presence of the subAB operon (encoding subtilase cytotoxin) using colony hybridization assays (21). The 1,823-bp subAB-specific DNA probe was derived from the STEC serotype O113:H21 (3) strain by PCR as previously described (19). Hybridization assays were performed under stringent conditions, and the probe was labeled with [␣-32 P]dCTP (Amersham), using the Ready-To-Go DNA labeling kit (Amersham). All strains which yielded a positive or weak signal in hybridization assays with the subAB probe were retested by PCR (18,19), and only those confirmed by PCR were considered to be carrying this sequence.The genetic profiles of the subAB-positive strains were determined using our previously reported data for the same strains (6,7,12,13,20,24) regarding the presence of the ehxA, eae, stx 1 , stx 2 , and adhesin-encoding genes (1,10,11,15,17,22,23).A total of 130 STEC strains carrying the subAB operon, representative of each serotype and isolated from different animals, were analyzed by PCR for the presence of genes encoding Lpf O113 and cytolethal distendi...

The presence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains in feces samples of cattle was determined using the cytotoxicity assay on Vero cells and a screening PCR system to detect stx genes. The STEC isolates were serotyped, tested for antimicrobial susceptibility, and analyzed for virulence genes using multiplex PCR. The verocytotoxin-producing E. coli - reverse passive latex agglutination (VTEC-RPLA) assay was also used to detect Shiga toxin production. The frequency of cattle shedding STEC was 36%. The isolates belonged to 33 different serotypes, of which O10:H42, O98:H41, and O159:H21 had not previously been associated with STEC. The most frequent serotypes were ONT:H7 (10%), O22:H8 (7%), O22:H16 (7%), and ONT:H21 (7%). Most of the strains (96%) were susceptible to all antimicrobial agents tested. Shiga toxin was detected by the VTEC-RPLA assay in most (89%) of the STEC strains. The frequency of virulence markers was as follows: stx1, 10%; stx2, 43%; stx1 plus stx2, 47%; ehxA, 44%; eae, 1%; and saa, 38%. Several strains belong to serotypes associated with human disease, and most of them carried a stx2-type gene, suggesting that they represent a risk to human health. The screening PCR assay showed fewer false-negative results for STEC than the Vero-cell assay and is suitable for laboratory routine.