| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Angelini, Michelle
;
Stehling, Eliana Guedes
;
Moretti, Maria Luiza
[1]
;
da Silveira, Wanderley Dias
[2]
Total Authors: 4
|
| Affiliation: | [1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Dept Clin Med, Fac Ciencias Med, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil
[2] Univ Estadual Campinas, UNICAMP, Dept Microbiol & Imunol, Inst Biol, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 2
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | Brazilian Journal of Microbiology; v. 40, n. 3, p. 685-692, SEP 2009. |
| Web of Science Citations: | 6 |
| Abstract | |
Shigella spp., the human pathogen responsible for shigellosis, is highly infectious even at low levels. The incidence rate of shigellosis varies with geographical distribution, location human development index, and age groups, being higher among children aged under 5 years. In Brazil, a few works indicate that shigellosis cases are underestimated, with S. flexneri and S. sonnei strains being the major agents responsible for the shigellosis cases. The present study used pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to investigate the molecular epidemiology of 119 strains of S. sonnei and S. flexneri isolated from shigellosis cases that occurred in the metropolitan areas of Ribeirao Preto and Campinas Cities, Sao Paulo Sate, southeast Brazil. The results indicated (i) the existence of just a few strain clusters for both species, but with genotype variability with either a high speed of genetic change or constant introduction of several genotypes, considering the intense migration to these two metropolitan areas, and (ii) the prevalence of specific genotypes in each geographical area, which suggests the successful adaptation of some genotypes to the local environmental conditions. Our results indicate the need of more efficacious sanitary barriers to prevent Shigella spp. outbreaks and epidemics. (AU) | |