| In this work, the prevalence of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) in children in Londrina-PR, Brazil, was evaluated by means of digoxigenin-labelled DNA probes which identify the plasmid responsible for EPEC adherence factor (EAF), and virulence genes for EPEC as bundle-forming pilus (bfp) and E. coli attaching-effacing factor (eae). In addition, the isolated strains were serotyped and tested for adherence to HEp-2 cells. From 102 children with diarrhoea, 19 strains hybridized with at least one probe, and eleven of them were identified as typical EPEC because they hybridized with the three probes used, showed a localized adherence (LA) pattern, and presented no genes for enterotoxins (ST and LT) or invasion as detected by PCR. Six of the typical... |
