title: Laribacter hongkongensis: a potential cause of infectious diarrhea.
abstract: In this study, we describe the isolation of Laribacter hongkongensis, a recently described genus and species of bacterium, in pure culture on charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate agar from the stool of six patients with diarrhea. Three patients were residents of Hong Kong, and three of Switzerland. In none of the stool samples obtained from these six patients was Salmonella, Shigella, enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, Vibrio, Aeromonas, Plesiomonas, or Campylobacter recovered. Rotavirus antigen detection, electron microscopic examination for viruses, and microscopic examinations for ova and cysts were all negative for the stool samples obtained from the three patients in Hong Kong. Enterotoxigenic E. coli was recovered from one of the patients in Hong Kong. Unlike L. hongkongensis type strain HKU1, all the six strains were motile with bipolar flagellae. Sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA genes of the six strains showed that they all had sequences with only 0-2 base differences to that of the type strain. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis of the SpeI digested genomic DNA of the six isolates and that of the type strain revealed that the seven isolates were genotypically unrelated strains. More extensive epidemiologic studies should be carried out to ascertain the causative association between L. hongkongensis and diarrhea and to define the reservoir and modes of transmission of L. hongkongensis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Patrick C Y
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Woo
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kuhnert
authors.forename: André P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Burnens
authors.forename: Jade L L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Teng
authors.forename: Susanna K P
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: Tak-lun
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Que
authors.forename: Hon-hung
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Yau
authors.forename: Kwok-yung
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Yuen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D001483:Base Sequence; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003470:Culture Media; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009346:Neisseriaceae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D012494:Sampling Studies; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D012329:RNA, Bacterial