Detection of plasma anti-lipopolysaccharides (LPS) antibodies against enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) in asymptomatic kindergarten teachers from Buenos Aires province

FERNANDEZ BRANDO, ROMINA; SACERDOTI, FLAVIA; AMARAL, MARIA MARTA; BERNAL, ALAN MAURO; DA ROCHA, MARCELO; BELARDO, MARCELA; PALERMO, MARINA; IBARRA, CRISTINA

REVISTA ARGENTINA DE MICROBIOLOGíA

ASOCIACION ARGENTINA MICROBIOLOGIA

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2023

0325-7541

In Argentina, the hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) caused by EHEC has the highest incidence in the world to date despite preventive measures carried out. EHEC infection has an endemo-epidemic behavior and causes 20% - 30% of acute bloody diarrhea syndrome in children less than 5 years old. In the period 2016–2020, 272 new cases per year were notified to the National Health Surveillance System, with an annual incidence of 7.3 cases per 100,000 children under 5 years of age. Multiple factors are responsible for the HUS incidence in Argentina including person-to-person transmission. In order to detect possible EHEC carriers, we carried out a preliminary study of the frequency of kindergarten teachers with anti-LPS antibodies in plasma against the most prevalent EHEC serotypes in Argentina. We analyzed 61 kindergarten teachers from 26 institutions from José C. Paz district, located in the suburban area of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Fifty-one percent of the plasma samples had antibodies against O157, O145, O121 and O103 LPS. Given that antibodies against LPS antigens are usually of short duration, specific IgM detection may indicate a recent infection. In addition, the high percentage of positive samples may indicate a frequent exposure 25 to EHEC strains in the cohort studied, as well as, the existence of a large non-symptomatic population of adults carrying pathogenic strains that could contribute to the endemic behavior through a person-to-person transmission. Improvement of continuous educational programs in kindergarten institutions could be a mandatory measure to reduce HUS cases not only in Argentina but globally.