title: [Detection of virulence genes of the enteroaggregative pathotype in Escherichia coli strains isolated from groundwater sources in the province of Chaco, Argentina].
abstract: Groundwater is an important source of drinking water for many communities in Northern Argentina; particularly, in the province of Chaco, where about 14% of households use this natural resource. Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli is an emerging pathogen whose global importance in public health has increased in recent years. Despite the significant risk of disease linked to contaminated water exposure, the prevalence of E. coli pathotypes in aquatic environments is still not so well defined. The aim of the present study was to detect the presence of typical enteroaggregative E. coli through the recognition of its virulence factors aap, AA probe and aggR by molecular techniques. A total of 93 water samples from different small communities of Chaco were analyzed. E. coli was identified in 36 (38.7%) of the tested samples. Six strains isolated from different samples harbored the studied genes. Of these 6 isolates, 3 carried the aap gene, 2 the AA probe and the last one the combination of aap/aggR genes. The prevalence of E. coli isolates harboring enteroaggregative virulence genes in groundwater sources was 6.4%. This work represents the first contribution to the study of the presence and distribution of virulence genes of EAEC in groundwater sources in this region of Argentina.
authors.affiliation: Área de Bacteriología, Instituto de Medicina Regional, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Resistencia, Chaco, Argentina; Cátedra de Microbiología, Parasitología e Inmunología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Corrientes, Argentina. Electronic address: silvinalosch@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Liliana S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Lösch
authors.affiliation: Área de Bacteriología, Instituto de Medicina Regional, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Resistencia, Chaco, Argentina.
authors.forename: María L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Gariboglio Vázquez
authors.affiliation: Servicio Fisiopatogenia, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas-ANLIS «Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán», Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rivas
authors.affiliation: Área de Bacteriología, Instituto de Medicina Regional, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Resistencia, Chaco, Argentina; Cátedra de Microbiología, Parasitología e Inmunología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Corrientes, Argentina.
authors.forename: Luis A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Merino
mesh_terms: D001118:Argentina; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D060587:Groundwater / Q000382:microbiology*; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics; D014876:Water Pollution; D014881:Water Supply
chemical_list: C479827:AAP protein, E coli; C088603:AggR protein, E coli; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators
keywords: Agua subterránea; Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli enteroagregativo; Fuente de agua; Groundwater; Molecular methods; Métodos moleculares; Source water