[Serotypes of enteroadherent Escherichia coli exhibiting diffuse pattern of adherence isolated from diarrheal patients and healthy controls in Brazil, Myanmar and Japan].

We tried to detect enteroadherent Escherichia coli exhibiting a diffuse pattern of adherence to HeLa cells from stock strains derived from patients with or without diarrhea in Brazil, Myanmar and Japan (Osaka). Enteroadherent E. coli was found from 16 (23 strains) out of 126 (384 strains) in diarrheal infant cases (12.7%), 26 (29 strains) out of 126 (348 strains) in healthy control cases (20.6%) in Brazil, from 15 (18 strains) out of 221 (542 strains) in diarrheal infant cases (6.8%), 4 (4 strains) out of 87 (212 strains) in healthy control cases (4.6%) in Myanmar. In Japan (Osaka), enteroadherent E. coli was detected from 7 (7 strains) out of 123 (198 strains) in diarrheal cases (5.7%). These results show that enteroadherent E. coli (diffuse) may not be associated with diarrhea. Forty-four (62.9%) out of 70 strains belonged to 19 O serogroups or 21 O:H serotypes. All strains were H antigen serotypable, and 26 strains were found to be nonmotile. The predominant O:H serotypes were O11:H15, O11:H-, O20:H34, O21:H5, O89:H-, O99:H33 and O154:H45. Only one strain belonged to enteropathogenic E. coli serogroup O127.