Background. Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is a cause of epidemic and sporadic diarrhea, yet its role as an enteric pathogen is not fully understood. Methods. We characterized 121 EAEC ...strains isolated in 2008 as part of a case-control study of moderate to severe acute diarrhea among children 0-59 months of age in Bamako, Mali. We applied multiplex polymerase chain reaction and comparative genome hybridization to identify potential virulence factors among the EAEC strains, coupled with classification and regression tree modeling to reveal combinations of factors most strongly associated with illness. Results. The gene encoding the autotransporter protease SepA, originally described in Shigella species, was most strongly associated with diarrhea among the EAEC strains tested (odds ratio, 5.6 95% confidence interval, 1.92-16.17; P = .0006). In addition, we identified 3 gene combinations correlated with diarrhea: (1) a clonal group positive for sepA and a putative hemolysin; (2) a group harboring the EAST-1 enterotoxin and the flagellar type H33 but no other previously identified EAEC virulence factor; and (3) a group carrying several of the typical EAEC virulence genes. Conclusion. Our data suggest that only a subset of EAEC strains are pathogenic in Mali and suggest that sepA may serve as a valuable marker for the most virulent isolates.
Motherhood and dental disease Scheutz, Flemming; Baelum, Vibeke; Matee, Mecky I M ...
Community dental health
19, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
To investigate whether motherhood is associated with tooth mortality, dental caries or destructive periodontal disease.
An analytical cross-sectional study.
The Magomeni mother and child health ...clinic in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
An age stratified total sample consisting of 500 mothers and pregnant women. Outcome measures Loss of a tooth, caries in a tooth or loss of periodontal attachment on a tooth.
Controlling for current age and age at first child birth using multiple logistic regression and fitting cluster-specific models, no association was found between the number of children a woman had and loss of teeth OR: 0.7-0.8 (95% CI: 0.3, 1.5). Nor was there any association with caries OR: 1.0-1.1 (95% CI: 0.4, 1.9). Attachment loss among women having given birth to four or more children was, however more common than among women with fewer children OR: 1.5-1.7 (95% CI: 1.0, 2.7).
No evidence supporting the hypothesis that the more children a woman has the more teeth she loses was found. Nor was an association between the number of children and caries found. There may, however, be an association between motherhood and periodontal destruction.
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