Diversidade entre cepas de Escherichia coli isoladas de água utilizada para consumo humano

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2008

RESUMO

In this study, 139 strains of Escherichia coli were isolated from drinking water between February 2005 and February 2006. They were collected from different cities in the northern region of Parana State, Brazil. Due to the fact that fecal contaminants in water are considered a threat to human health and that the presence of pathogenic strains may contaminate water sources in this region, the genetic diversity of these isolated strains was studied. BOX-PCR and PCR-RFLP of the 16S ribosomal gene were used to study the genetic diversity among all the isolates, which were also classified into phylogenetic groups: A, B1, B2 and D. A high level of diversity among the isolates and clones in different counties or among clones from the same source of contamination was observed. Therefore, the rivers or aquifers that supply the cities may be pathogen carriers in this region. The classification of these strains into phylogenetic groups together with the analysis of genetic diversity based on BOX-PCR gave us an idea of the extent of pathogenic strains, since the percentage of strains belonging to the B2 group was very low, 4.7% of the overall sample. This analysis thus demonstrates the importance of water in the spread of pathogenic microorganisms and the importance of the techniques used in studies of epidemiological surveys in micro-regions.

ASSUNTO(S)

water - microbiology pathogenic microorganisms escherichia coli - genética Água - microbiologia microorganismos patogênicos

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