Prevalence of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli and its virulence-related genes in a case-control study among children from north-eastern Brazil.

ABSTRACT: Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is an important agent that causes endemic and epidemic diarrhoeal diseases worldwide. Several EAEC virulence-related genes (VRGs) have been described but their role in the clinical outcome of infection is not completely defined. This study investigated the prevalence of EAEC and potential associations of its VRGs with risk of or protection from diarrhoeal diseases in children from urban communities in north-eastern Brazil. The case-control study included 166 children, who had their stools evaluated for the EAEC diagnostic genes (aaiC and aatA) using PCR. Positive samples were further analysed by multiplex PCR and identified 18 VRGs. EAEC was found in the same proportion in both groups (41%). The plasmid-borne gene encoding a hexosyltransferase homo

SUBMITTER: Lima IFN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3709657 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature