Estimating the prevalence of potential enteropathogenic Escherichia coli and intimin gene diversity in a human community by monitoring sanitary sewage.

ABSTRACT: Presently, the understanding of bacterial enteric diseases in the community and their virulence factors relies almost exclusively on clinical disease reporting and examination of clinical pathogen isolates. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of an alternative approach that monitors potential enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) prevalence and intimin gene (eae) diversity in a community by directly quantifying and characterizing target virulence genes in the sanitary sewage. The quantitative PCR (qPCR) quantification of the eae, stx1, and stx2 genes in sanitary sewage samples collected over a 13-month period detected eae in all 13 monthly sewage samples at significantly higher abundance (93 to 7,240 calibrator cell equivalents [CCE]/100

SUBMITTER: Yang K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3910997 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature