Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli in diarrhetic pediatric patients : virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance

Abstract EN

Objective: Escherichia coli is considered one of the prevalent causes of diarrhea in pediatrics.

The current study aimed to assess the diarrhetic and non-diarrhetic E.

coli virulence markers and antibiotic resistance distribution in pediatrics.

Materials and Methods: Two hundred and sixty stool specimens of diarrhetic and non-diarrhetic pediatrics were collected.

The microbial culture was used for E.

coli isolation and identification.

Disk diffusion was applied to assess the E.

coli isolates antibiotic resistance.

PCR appraised the virulence factors distribution.

Results: The mean age of the examined diarrhetic and non-diarrhetic pediatrics were 1.1±0.3 and 1.0±0.4 years, with a 71/49 and 75/65 male to female ratio, respectively.

Diarrhea (100%), fever (91.66%), and nausea (66.66%) were frequent symptoms in diarrheal patients.

Bloody diarrhea was found in 16.566% of pediatrics.

E.

coli prevalence amongst the diarrhetic and non-diarrhetic pediatric patients was 35% and 7.14%, respectively (P < 0.05).

The maximum resistance rate was obtained for gentamicin (82.69%), tetracycline (82.69%), ampicillin (80.76%), and penicillin (75%).

E.

coli isolates of pediatric patients presented a higher resistance rate toward all examined antibiotic agents (P <0.05).

Stx1 (44.23%) and eaeA (40.38%) were more frequent amongst isolates.

E.

coli isolates of non-diarrhetic pediatric patients only harbored stx1 (10%), eaeA (10%), and ehlyA (10%) genes.

In total, 3.84% of E.

coli strains of diarrhetic pediatric patients simultaneously harbored stx1, eaeA, and ehlyA virulence genes.

E.

coli isolates of diarrhetic pediatric patients harboured the highest distribution of all examined virulence genes (P <0.05).

Conclusion and Recommendation: The simultaneous virulence factors and antibiotic resistance distribution in E.

coli isolates showed high pathogenicity.

Imipenem and cefixime prescription showed effective results against E.

coli bacteria.