Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1989 Nov;27(11):2539–2543. doi: 10.1128/jcm.27.11.2539-2543.1989

Colonization of neonates in a nursery ward with enteropathogenic Escherichia coli and correlation to the clinical histories of the children.

D Senerwa 1, O Olsvik 1, L N Mutanda 1, J M Gathuma 1, K Wachsmuth 1
PMCID: PMC267073  PMID: 2681255

Abstract

Stool samples were examined from 30 preterm neonates admitted to a nursery ward; 16 neonates had diarrhea, 12 constituted an age-matched control group without diarrhea, and 2 had an unknown history regarding diarrhea. Variable numbers of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli serotype O111:HNT strains possessing the gene coding for the enteroadherence factor (EAF) were found in stool samples from 13 of the neonates. No other microbiological enteropathogen was found. A total of 294 strains (9 or 10 from each neonate, comprising 229 E. coli and 65 Klebsiella pneumoniae strains) were characterized with respect to plasmid content and grouped into 37 plasmid profile groups. Diarrhea was found not to be correlated with any specific plasmid profile or with the presence of the EAF-positive strains but rather with the number of strains with one specific plasmid profile or with the number of EAF-positive strains (of the 9 or 10 strains) isolated from each stool sample. All the neonates who died had diarrhea (5 died of 16 with diarrhea); all five of the neonates who died possessed strains with one specific plasmid profile group, and EAF-positive strains were isolated from four of them. Of the seven neonates from whom seven or more EAF-positive isolates were isolated, three died, compared with only one of five of those from whom only a few (1 to 3 of 10) EAF-positive strains were isolated. Both plasmid profiling and genetic probing with the EAF probe were found to be good alternatives when serotyping is not available for identification of O111:HNT enteropathogenic E. coli strains.

Full text

PDF
2539

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Antai S. P., Anozie S. O. Incidence of infantile diarrhoea due to enteropathogenic Escherichia coli in Port Harcourt metropolis. J Appl Bacteriol. 1987 Mar;62(3):227–229. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1987.tb02403.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Baldini M. M., Kaper J. B., Levine M. M., Candy D. C., Moon H. W. Plasmid-mediated adhesion in enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 1983;2(3):534–538. doi: 10.1097/00005176-198302030-00023. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Chatkaeomorakot A., Echeverria P., Taylor D. N., Bettelheim K. A., Blacklow N. R., Sethabutr O., Seriwatana J., Kaper J. HeLa cell-adherent Escherichia coli in children with diarrhea in Thailand. J Infect Dis. 1987 Oct;156(4):669–672. doi: 10.1093/infdis/156.4.669. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cravioto A., Reyes R. E., Ortega R., Fernández G., Hernández R., López D. Prospective study of diarrhoeal disease in a cohort of rural Mexican children: incidence and isolated pathogens during the first two years of life. Epidemiol Infect. 1988 Aug;101(1):123–134. doi: 10.1017/s0950268800029289. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dean A. G., Ching Y. C., Williams R. G., Harden L. B. Test for Escherichia coli enterotoxin using infant mice: application in a study of diarrhea in children in Honolulu. J Infect Dis. 1972 Apr;125(4):407–411. doi: 10.1093/infdis/125.4.407. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Edelman R., Levine M. M. From the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Summary of a workshop on enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. J Infect Dis. 1983 Jun;147(6):1108–1118. doi: 10.1093/infdis/147.6.1108. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Finegold S. M. Interaction of antimicrobial therapy and intestinal flora. Am J Clin Nutr. 1970 Nov;23(11):1466–1471. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/23.11.1466. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Freiman I., Hartman E., Kassel H., Robins-Browne R. M., Schoub B. D., Koornhof H. J., Lecatsas G., Prozesky O. W. A microbiological study of gastro-enteritis in Black infants. S Afr Med J. 1977 Aug 6;52(7):261–265. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Gomes T. A., Vieira M. A., Wachsmuth I. K., Blake P. A., Trabulsi L. R. Serotype-specific prevalence of Escherichia coli strains with EPEC adherence factor genes in infants with and without diarrhea in São Paulo, Brazil. J Infect Dis. 1989 Jul;160(1):131–135. doi: 10.1093/infdis/160.1.131. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kado C. I., Liu S. T. Rapid procedure for detection and isolation of large and small plasmids. J Bacteriol. 1981 Mar;145(3):1365–1373. doi: 10.1128/jb.145.3.1365-1373.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Karch H., Heesemann J., Laufs R. Phage-associated cytotoxin production by and enteroadhesiveness of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from infants with diarrhea in West Germany. J Infect Dis. 1987 Apr;155(4):707–715. doi: 10.1093/infdis/155.4.707. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Klipstein F. A., Engert R. F. Purification and properties of Klebsiella pneumoniae heat-stable enterotoxin. Infect Immun. 1976 Feb;13(2):373–381. doi: 10.1128/iai.13.2.373-381.1976. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Laporta M. Z., Silva M. L., Scaletsky I. C., Trabulsi L. R. Plasmids coding for drug resistance and localized adherence to HeLa cells in enteropathogenic Escherichia coli O55:H- and O55:H6. Infect Immun. 1986 Feb;51(2):715–717. doi: 10.1128/iai.51.2.715-717.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Levine M. M., Edelman R. Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli of classic serotypes associated with infant diarrhea: epidemiology and pathogenesis. Epidemiol Rev. 1984;6:31–51. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.epirev.a036274. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Levine M. M. Escherichia coli that cause diarrhea: enterotoxigenic, enteropathogenic, enteroinvasive, enterohemorrhagic, and enteroadherent. J Infect Dis. 1987 Mar;155(3):377–389. doi: 10.1093/infdis/155.3.377. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Mayer L. W. Use of plasmid profiles in epidemiologic surveillance of disease outbreaks and in tracing the transmission of antibiotic resistance. Clin Microbiol Rev. 1988 Apr;1(2):228–243. doi: 10.1128/cmr.1.2.228. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Nataro J. P., Maher K. O., Mackie P., Kaper J. B. Characterization of plasmids encoding the adherence factor of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. Infect Immun. 1987 Oct;55(10):2370–2377. doi: 10.1128/iai.55.10.2370-2377.1987. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Nataro J. P., Scaletsky I. C., Kaper J. B., Levine M. M., Trabulsi L. R. Plasmid-mediated factors conferring diffuse and localized adherence of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. Infect Immun. 1985 May;48(2):378–383. doi: 10.1128/iai.48.2.378-383.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Nicoletti M., Superti F., Conti C., Calconi A., Zagaglia C. Virulence factors of lactose-negative Escherichia coli strains isolated from children with diarrhea in Somalia. J Clin Microbiol. 1988 Mar;26(3):524–529. doi: 10.1128/jcm.26.3.524-529.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Paulozzi L. J., Johnson K. E., Kamahele L. M., Clausen C. R., Riley L. W., Helgerson S. D. Diarrhea associated with adherent enteropathogenic Escherichia coli in an infant and toddler center, Seattle, Washington. Pediatrics. 1986 Mar;77(3):296–300. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Scaletsky I. C., Silva M. L., Trabulsi L. R. Distinctive patterns of adherence of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli to HeLa cells. Infect Immun. 1984 Aug;45(2):534–536. doi: 10.1128/iai.45.2.534-536.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Senerwa D., Olsvik O., Mutanda L. N., Lindqvist K. J., Gathuma J. M., Fossum K., Wachsmuth K. Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli serotype O111:HNT isolated from preterm neonates in Nairobi, Kenya. J Clin Microbiol. 1989 Jun;27(6):1307–1311. doi: 10.1128/jcm.27.6.1307-1311.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Toledo M. R., Alvariza M. do C., Murahovschi J., Ramos S. R., Trabulsi L. R. Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli serotypes and endemic diarrhea in infants. Infect Immun. 1983 Feb;39(2):586–589. doi: 10.1128/iai.39.2.586-589.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Tullus K., Berglund B., Fryklund B., Kühn I., Burman L. G. Epidemiology of fecal strains of the family Enterobacteriaceae in 22 neonatal wards and influence of antibiotic policy. J Clin Microbiol. 1988 Jun;26(6):1166–1170. doi: 10.1128/jcm.26.6.1166-1170.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Walia S., Madhavan T., Reuman P., Tewari R., Duckworth D. Plasmid profiles and klebocin types in epidemiologic studies of infections by Klebsiella pneumoniae. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 1988 Apr;7(2):279–284. doi: 10.1007/BF01963102. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES