Diffusely adherent Escherichia coli as a cause of acute diarrhea in young children in Northeast Brazil: a case-control study

In a prospective study carried out in two urban centers in northeastern Brazil, 195 HEp-2-adherent Escherichia coli strains were isolated; 110 were identified as the only pathogen in stools of children with diarrhea, and 85 were from controls. Enteropathogenic E. coli isolates were identified in 21 children with diarrhea (8.9%) and 7 children without diarrhea (3.0%), and they were significantly associated with diarrhea ( P < 0.01). Enteroaggregative E. coli strains were isolated from 40 children with diarrhea (16.9%) and 38 children without diarrhea (16.4%) and showed no correlation with diarrhea ( P > 0.5). In 49 children with diarrhea (20.7%) and 40 children without diarrhea (17.3%), diffusely adherent E. coli (DAEC) isolates were detected and were not found to be associated with diarrhea ( P = 0.41). However, after stratification, for children older than 12 months of age a significant correlation between DAEC infection and diarrhea was detected ( P = 0.01). These results suggest that DAEC isolates should be considered potential pathogens in northeastern Brazil and also confirm the association of DAEC with age-dependent diarrhea.