Journal List > Korean J Clin Microbiol > v.12(4) > 1038178

Jeon, Kim, Lee, Son, Park, Lee, and Kim: Detection of the Causative Agents of Traveler's Diarrhea Using a Real-Time PCR Screening Method

Abstract

Background

The incidence of infectious diarrheal disease in Korea has decreased over the past decade, but traveler's diarrhea (TD) is increasing in frequency. We therefore investigated the distribution of the causative agents of TD.

Methods

A total of 132 rectal swab specimens were acquired from TD patients who entered the country via Gimhae International Airport. The specimens were screened for 12 bacterial pathogens by realtime PCR, and target pathogens were isolated from the PCR positive specimens using conventional microbiological isolation methods.

Results

A total of 93 specimens (70.5%) showed positive PCR screening results, and of these specimens, nine species and 50 isolates (37.9%), including Vibrio parahaemolyticus (18 isolates) and ETEC (17 isolates), were isolated. No specimens were PCR positive for Listeria monocytogenes or Campylobacter jejuni, and no pathogenic Bacillus cereus were isolated.

Conclusion

Even though viruses and EAEC were not included as target pathogens, the high isolation rate of these pathogens in this study provides indirect evidence that most cases of pathogen-negative TD are caused by undetected bacterial agents. Furthermore, our study results confirm the effectiveness of realtime PCR-based screening methods. This study is the first report in Korea to demonstrate that ETEC and V. parahaemolyticus are the major causative pathogens of TD, and this knowledge can be used to help treat and prevent TD.

REFERENCES

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Fig. 1.
Clustering of XbaI digested PFGE patterns of ETEC isolates.
kjcm-12-186f1.tif
Table 1.
Real time PCR kit used in this study
Kit Pathogens Target gene
PowerChekTM V. cholerae Real-time PCR Kit V. cholerae hlyA
PowerChekTM V. parahaemolyticus Real-time PCR Kit V. parahaemolyticus toxR
PowerChekTM ETEC Real-time PCR Kit ETEC LT ST
PowerChekTM EHEC Real-time PCR Kit EHEC stx1 stx2
PowerChekTM Salmonella PCR Kit Salmonella spp. invE
PowerChekTM Shigella spp. PCR Kit Shigella spp. ipaH
PowerChekTM Staphylococcus aureus PCR Kit S. aureus femA
PowerChekTM Yersinia enterocolitica PCR Kit Y. enterocolitica 16s rRNA
PowerChekTM Listeria monocytogenes PCR Kit L. monocytogens iap
PowerChekTM Bacillus cereus PCR Kit B. cereus groEL
PowerChekTM Campylobacter jejuni PCR Kit C. jejuni hip
PowerChekTM Clostridium perfringens PCR Kit C. perfringens cpa, cpe

PCR was performed as duplex reaction.

Table 2.
PCR positive rate and isolation rate of pathogenic bacteria
Pathogens Philippines Thailand Vietnam China Cambodias Total
No. of isolate (%) No. of PCR (%) No. of isolate (%) No. of PCR (%) No. of isolate (%) No. of PCR (%) No. of isolate (%) No. of PCR (%) No. of isolate (%) No. of PCR (%) No. of isolate (%) No. of PCR (%)
V. cholerae 1 (2.1) 2 (4.3) 1 (3.1) 1 (3.1) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 2 (1.5) 3 (2.3)
V. parahaemolyticus 8 (17.0) 8 (17.0) 7 (21.9) 7 (21.9) 2 (7.1) 2 (7.1) 1 (5.3) 1 (5.3) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 18 (13.6) 18 (13.6)
ETEC 0 (0.0) 3 (6.4) 1 (3.1) 4 (12.5) 12 (42.9) 14 (50.0) 4 (21.1) 4 (21.1) 0 (0.0) 1 (20.0) 17 (12.9) 26 (19.7)
EHEC 0 (0.0) 1 (2.1) 0 (0.0) 1 (3.1) 1 (3.6) 5 (17.9) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 1 (0.8) 7 (5.3)
Salmonella spp. 0 (0.0) 1 (2.1) 2 (6.3) 2 (6.3) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 2 (1.5) 3 (2.3)
Shigella spp. 1 (2.1) 3 (6.4) 2 (6.3) 3 (9.4) 0 (0.0) 3 (10.7) 1 (5.3) 1 (5.3) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 4 (3.0) 10 (7.6)
Staph. aureus 0 (0.0) 2 (4.3) 0 (0.0) 1 (3.1) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 1 (5.3) 1 (20.0) 1 (20.0) 1 (0.8) 5 (3.8)
Y. enterocolitica 0 (0.0) 6 (12.8) 0 (0.0) 5 (15.6) 0 (0.0) 2 (7.1) 2 (10.5) 3 (15.8) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 2 (1.5) 16 (12.1)
L. monocytogens 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0)
B. cereus 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 1 (3.6) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 1 (0.8)
Campy. jejuni 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0)
Cl. perfringens 2 (4.3) 2 (4.3) 1 (3.1) 1 (3.1) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 1 (5.3) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 3 (2.3) 4 (3.0)
Total 12 (25.5) 28 (59.6) 14 (43.8) 25 (78.1) 15 (53.6) 27 (96.4) 8 (42.1) 11 (57.9) 1 (20.0) 2 (40.0) 50 (37.9) 93 (70.5)
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