Adherence and virulence genes of Escherichia coli from children diarrhoea in the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

The bacterial pathogen most commonly associated with endemic forms of childhood diarrhoea is Escherichia coli . Studies of epidemiological characteristics of HEp-2 cell-adherent E. coli in diarrhoeal disease are required, particularly in developing countries. The aim of this study was evaluate the presence and significance of adherent Escherichia coli from diarrhoeal disease in children. The prevalence of LA, AA, and DA adherence patterns were determined in HEp-2 cells, the presence of virulence genes and the presence of the O serogroups in samples obtained from 470 children with acute diarrhoea and 407 controls in Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil. E. coli isolates were identified by PCR specific for groups of adherent E. coli . Out of 1,156 isolates obtained, 128 (11.0%) were positive for eae genes corresponding to EPEC, however only 38 (29.6%) of these amplified bfpA gene . EAEC were isolated from 164 (14.1%) samples; of those 41(25%), 32 (19%) and 16 (9.7%) amplified eagg , aggA or aafA genes, respectively and aggA was significantly associated with diarrhoea ( P = 0.00006). DAEC identified by their adhesion pattern and there were few isolates. In conclusion, EAEC was the main cause of diarrhoea in children, especially when the aggA gene was present, followed by EPEC and with a negligible presence of DAEC.

Antibiotic resistance and virulence patterns of pathogenic Escherichia coli strains associated with acute gastroenteritis among children in Qatar

“…Similar to our findings, in the MENA region, atypical EPEC strains have been the most manifested in Iran (100%), Iraq (66.7%) and Kuwait (95.6%) [34,55,56]. They have been also reported in other countries worldwide, such as Brazil, North-West Italy, Melbourne, India [56][57][58][59][60]. In agreement with our findings, the atypical EPEC organisms that possess eae alone have been reported to be more prevalent in both developing and developed countries.…”

A study of virulence and antimicrobial resistance pattern in diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli isolated from diarrhoeal stool specimens from children and adults in a tertiary hospital, Puducherry, India

“…In our study interestingly, among the atypical EPEC detected, most were found to harbor bfpA gene alone and very few strains were positive for the eaeA gene. Variations in the distribution of atypical EPEC have been documented in earlier studies [ 19 – 24 ]. Atypical EPEC strain harboring eaeA gene without bfpA gene was detected in the studies conducted in Brazil, North-West Italy, and Melbourne [ 19 – 21 ].…”

“…Variations in the distribution of atypical EPEC have been documented in earlier studies [ 19 – 24 ]. Atypical EPEC strain harboring eaeA gene without bfpA gene was detected in the studies conducted in Brazil, North-West Italy, and Melbourne [ 19 – 21 ]. A study from Iraq documented only atypical EPEC harboring bfpA without eaeA gene [ 22 ].…”

Public health risks associated with Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) as a food‐borne pathogen

“…EAEC is the second most common cause of travellers' diarrhoea after ETEC (Shah et al, 2009) and its occurrence as endemic and epidemic disease is becoming well recognised. It causes persistent diarrhoea in children in low-income countries (Dutta et al, 1999;Sarantuya et al, 2004;Hebbelstrup Jensen et al, 2014;Benevides-Matos et al, 2015) and has been implicated as an important enteric pathogen affecting AIDS patients (Wanke et al, 1998). The 2011 German E. coli foodborne outbreak was caused by an EAEC strain (O104:H4) encoding Stx.…”