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Author Spotlight: Advancements in Understanding and Combatting Shigella Infections
Published on: February 9, 2024
Virulence factors associated with pediatric shigellosis in Brazilian Amazon
Carolinie Batista Nobre da Cruz1, Maria Carolina Scheffer de Souza2, Paula Taquita Serra2
1Instituto Leônidas e Maria Deane-Fiocruz Amazônia, Rua Terezina 476, Adrianópolis, 69.057-070 Manaus, AM, Brazil.
Abstract:
Shigellosis is a global human health problem and the incidence is highest among children. In the present work, main Shigella virulence genes was examined by PCR and compared to symptoms of pediatric shigellosis. Thirty Shigella isolates were identified from an etiologic study at which 1,339 children ranging 0-10 years old were enrolled. S. flexneri was the most frequent species reaching 60.0% of isolates, 22.2% were S. sonnei, and 6.6% were both S. dysenteriae and S. boydii. All Shigella infected children had diarrhea, but not all were accompanied by others symptoms of bacillary dysentery. Among major virulence genes, the PCR typing revealed ipaBCD was present in all isolates, followed by IpaH7.8, set-1A, set-1B, sen/ospD3, virF, and invE. The pathogenic potential of the ShET-1B subunit was observed in relation to dehydration (P < 0.001) and ShET-2 related to the intestinal injury (P = 0.033) evidenced by the presence of bloody diarrhea. Our results show associations among symptoms of shigellosis and virulence genes of clinical isolates of Shigella spp.
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