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Isolation and characterisation of Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli strains from northern Palestine

Department of Biological Sciences, An-Najah N. University and *Department of Biological Sciences, Bir Zeit University, Palestine

Corresponding author: Dr K. Adwan (e-mail: adwan{at}najah.edu).

Received 16 May 2001; revised version received 12 Nov. 2001; accepted 21 Nov. 2001.

Abstract

Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) isolates from symptomatic and asymptomatic patients in northern Palestine in 1999 were screened for serotype O157 and characterised for virulence genes by multiplex PCR assay. Of the 176 STEC isolates, 124 (70.5%) were of serotype O157. All these isolates carried the gene for Shiga toxin type 1 (stx₁) and 112 (90.3%) carried stx₂. The intimin encoding gene locus eae was detected in 16 isolates (12.9%) and the enterohaemolysin encoding gene, hlyA, in 18 (14.5%). Statistical analysis showed a significant association between the presence of eaeA and hlyA, either alone or combined with stx₁ and stx₂ genes in O157 isolates from symptomatic infection. ERIC-PCR analysis of DNA from 80 serotype O157 isolates revealed three major clonal populations.