[Prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in a pediatric population in Bogotá, D.C. with acute gastroenteritis].

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in pediatric patients with acute gastroenteritis (AGE).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A prospective epidemiologic study was performed in cases and controls to detect the germ in fecal samples of 300 children with AGE in Bogotá, D.C. The stools of the patients and 85 controls were seeded in MacConkey-sorbitol agar. The sorbitol negative colonies were biotyped and seroagglutinated with a latex test for E. coli O157:H7. Antimicrobial susceptibility was performed after using the Bauer & Kirby method.

RESULTS

Of the 300 diarrhea specimens analyzed, 14 strains corresponded to E. coli O157:H7 with a prevalence rate of 4.7% in children with AGE. The prevalence was 1.14%, the excess of risk of presenting E. coli O157:H7 was 14% in children with AGE. One child developed SUH. In three of the 85 controls E. coli O157:H7 was isolated, with a prevalence rate of 3.53%. The mean age of the 14 patients was 21 months (range: 3 months to 7 years) and the mean length of diarrhea in the children was 2 days. All the isolations of E. coli O157:H7 were sorbitol negative and indol negative with only 2 strains being MUG negative.

DISCUSSION

This epidemiologic study has, for the first time, demonstrated the strong prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in Colombia. The clinical data do not show a common pattern. Whether the strains isolated in the study are verotoxin producers remains to be demonstrated.