Presence of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli from children younger than 5 years in the ABC Paulista

• Grant number: 15/12474-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2015
• End date: November 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Biology and Physiology of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Maria Cecília Cergole Novella
• Grantee: Elisa Ribeiro Mucci
• Host Institution: Instituto Adolfo Lutz (IAL). Coordenadoria de Controle de Doenças (CCD). Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Infections caused by Escherichia coli represent a public health concern and are associated with a broad spectrum of diseases that ranges from mild diarrhea or even unapparent, to extremely severe and exacerbated clinical conditions such as hemorrhagic coliti and hemolytic uremic syndrome. The pathogens are transmitted to humans primarily through direct or indirect contaminated food and water with fecal material. The direct fecal-oral transmission is common in institutional settings, such as prisons, kindergartens, hospitals and shelters for elderly. As more precarious hygienic conditions of the community, the higher the incidence of acute diarrhea. Since there is no data on the occurrence of children's diarrhea, on the prevalence of enteropathogens in the region of action of the Center of Laboratory Regional of Institute Adolfo Lutz of Santo André VIII, and also due to the emergence of antimicrobial resistant strains such as human infection important agents, this project has as its objective to verify the prevalence of Escherichia coli in clinical strains from infants with diarrheal and from age-matched controls children younger than 5 years. The bacterial identification will be done both by conventional methodology and also by using new methodologies, aiming at a quick and exact diagnosis. This will allow for the detection and notification of alterations on the local pattern of child diarrhea illnesses, pointing at epidemic and surges in good time, allowing for the blocking of its spreading. This way the monitoring of an acute diarrhea disease will have a routine registration and systematic evaluation of any cases of child diarrhea occurred in the region so that one may start a more detailed investigation of the episodes. Also it will add knowledge to the incidence of new cases and the prevalence of already existing cases in our local environment. (AU)