Geórgio Freesz Valadares

Virulence factors of Escherichia coli isolated from calves with diarrhea in Brazil

Duzentas e cinco amostras de Escherichia coli isoladas de bezerros com diarreia da regiao centro oeste do Brazil foram examinados quanto a presenca de fatores de virulencia associados a colibacilose bovina. Cento e duas amostras (49,8%) de E. coli produziram toxinas: toxina de Shiga do tipo 1 (9,7%) e 2 (6,3%), a-hemolisina (9,7%), enterohemolisina (6,8%), Fatores Citotoxicos Necrotisantes tipo 1 (0,5%) e 2 (4,4%), enterotoxinas LT-II (8,3%), e STa (3,9%). Nenhuma amostra produziu enterotoxina LT-I. Adesinas fimbriais F5 e F17 foram produzidas por 7,3% e 4,8% das cepas, respectivamente, e nenhuma expressou F41. Sete das amostras (3,4%) apresentaram o gene eae e pertenceram aos sorotipos O26:H-; O111:H- e O118:H16. Estes resultados sugerem que bezerros no Brasil podem ser uma importante fonte de E. coli patogenica para animais e humanos.

Escherichia coli strains from edema disease: O serogroups‚ and genes for Shiga toxin‚ enterotoxins‚ and F18 fimbriae

The objectives of the research were to determine the presence of the gene sequences for Shiga Toxin 2e (Stx2e), enterotoxins (ST-I, ST-II and LT-I), and F18 fimbriae in 144 Escherichia coli strains isolated from pigs with edema disease; to assess the ability of stx2e(+) strains to produce Stx2e; and to determine the O serogroups of the E. coli strains. Presence of the genes was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), production of Stx2e was assessed by cytotoxicity for Vero and Hela cells, O serogroups were identified by agglutination with specific antisera. Of the 144 strains tested, 99 were stx2e(+) by PCR, but only 45 of these were Stx2e(+) in the cell culture assays. Among the 99 stx2e(+) strains, PCR detected the genes for F18ab, ST-I, ST-II, LT-I in 76, 40, 31 and 16 strains, respectively. Forty-one of the 99 sxt2e(+) strains belonged to O group 139; the rest did not belong to the classical edema disease O serogroups. It is likely that the enterotoxins, whose genes were detected at high frequency, are responsible for diarrhea seem in pigs with edema disease in Brazil.

Contaminação ambiental e perfil toxigênico de Bacillus cereus isolados em serviços de alimentação

Ninety air samples and ninety six samples from benches and equipments surfaces were collected in two food services for investigation of Bacillus cereus contamination sources and characterization of strains toxin profiles. B. cereus was detected in 84.4% and 44.8% from air samples and samples from benches and equipments surfaces, respectively. The potential of enterotoxin production was investigated using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods for genes hblA, hblD e hblC (encoding hemolysin BL) and for genes nheA, nheB and nheC (encoding non-hemolytic enterotoxin - NHE). From 70 isolates investigated 14.3% were positive for the three HBL encoding genes and 12.8% were positive for the three NHE encoding genes. The Bacillus Diarrhoeal Enterotoxin Visual Immunoassay (BDE-VIA; Tecra) also was used for NHE detection. The results obtained with BDE-VIA revealed that 61.4% from the 70 strains are NHE producers.

Occurrence of F42 colonization factor in Escherichia coli strains isolated from piglets with diarrhea

The objective of this study was to determine the presence of the colonization factor F42 in 168 strains of Escherichia coli isolated from diarrheic stools of newborn piglets. The presence of F42 in 12 (7.1%) strains was detected with the agglutination test. Through the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) of F42 positive strains, gene encoding enterotoxins (ST-I, ST-II, LT-I and LT-II) were detected. The finding of ST-I/ST-II genes in 50% of the strains, ST-I (16%) and ST-II (25%) indicates a strong association of FC F42 with heat-stable enterotoxins (91%). In contrast, the thermolabile enterotoxin (LT-I and LT-II) genes were not detected. Serogroups of F42 positive strains were determined, serogroup O8 being the most prevalent (41,7%). Other serogroups, as there are O9, O11, O18, O32, O35, O98 and O101, were also identified. Thus, FC F42 was confirmed as an additional factor of virulence in the pathogenesis of porcine colibacillosis.