Author(s)

Rolande Mabika Mabika¹, Sandrine Lydie Oyegue Liabagui^2,3, Hilaire Kenguele Moundounga¹, Franck Mounioko⁴, Alain Souza¹, Jean Fabrice Yala^1*

¹Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, équipe de Microbiologie (LABMC), Unité de Recherche Agrobiologie, Université des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku (USTM), Franceville, Gabon.
²Unité d’Evolution, Epidémiologie et Résistance Parasitaire (UNEEREP), Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF), Franceville, Gabon.
⁴Unité d’Ecologie des Systèmes Vectoriels (ESV), Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF), Franceville, Gabon.

Background and Purpose: Diarrhoeagenic E. coli (DEC) is one of the germs responsible for childhood diarrhea in developing countries. This study aims at determining the prevalence of the five main pathotypes of DEC isolated from faeces of children under five years old with diarrhea or not, living in the city of Koula-Moutou. Methodology: Isolates of E. coli were phenotypically screened on chromID^TM agar and molecularly by multiplex PCR to detect the presence of enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC), enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), enterohemorragic E. coli (EHEC) and enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC). The evaluation of their sensitivity to 12 β-lactam antibiotic molecules was carried out by Kirby Bauer method. This method has also made it possible to characterize phenotypically the different β-lactamases produced. Results and Conclusion: Overall, at least one DEC pathovar was detected in the 63 E. coli strains with phenotypic and molecular frequencies of 63.5% and 68.5% respectively. Thus, ETEC (28.3%) and EHEC (28.3%) were the most frequent DEC in diarrheal isolates. ETEC/EHEC hybrid was recorded in both groups with rates of 7.5% in diarrheal cases and 10.0% for controls. The results showed produced carbapenemase type β-lactamases (31.7%), followed by ESBL (24.4%) and few produced high level penicillinases (4.9%). The DEC, in particular ETEC and EHEC are most likely the epidemiological agents responsible for childhood diarrhea in this study.

Diarrhea, Children, Diarrheagenic E. coli, β-Lactamases, Multiplex PCR

Mabika, R. , Liabagui, S. , Moundounga, H. , Mounioko, F. , Souza, A. and Yala, J. (2021) Molecular Prevalence and Epidemiological Characteristics of Diarrheagenic E. coli in Children under 5 Years Old in the City of Koula-Moutou, East-Central Gabon. Open Journal of Medical Microbiology, 11, 157-175. doi: 10.4236/ojmm.2021.113013.