Abstract:
Background: Diarrhoea remains an important public health problem and is the second
leading cause of mortality and morbidity in children throughout the world, especially in
developing countries. In Ghana, diarrhoea is the third common cause of hospital attendance
of young children. It is responsible for 13.1% of hospitalizations among these children and
an annual average of 5, 193 deaths in children under 5 years of age. Bacterial
enteropathogenic agents of diarrhoea and mechanisms responsible for disease pathogenesis
are generally known. However, knowledge on the true prevalence and contribution of these
bacteria to the disease burden is very limited. This study strives to optimize available PCR
methods to facilitate accurate diagnosis of Enterotoxigenic E. coli and Shigella spp.
infections and contribute baseline information on diarrhoeal bacterial enteropathogens.
Main Objective: To provide a new method for the routine screening and detection of
Enterotoxigenic E. coli and Shigella spp. in diarrhoeal stool samples via PCR.
Design: Two hundred archived stool samples from previous diarrhoeal surveillance study
were retrieved from the Department of Electron Microscopy/Histopathology of Noguchi
Memorial Institute for Medical Research for analysis. Total DNA was extracted and
conventional PCR used to identify Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) and Shigella spp.. The
incidence and prevalence was then computed.
Results: 4 (2%) samples screened were positive for heat-labile toxin producing ETEC with
all detections occurring in the 0-12 month year group. Heat-stable toxin producing ETEC
and Shigella were not detected.
Conclusion: The overall prevalence of ETEC-LT in this study was 2%. Conventional PCR
may be used for the routine screening of diarrhoeal stool samples for ETEC-LT, ETEC-
ST, and Shigella. This method of screening diarrhoeal stool samples is fast and specific.
Taking into account the promptness with which results are made available for health care
delivery and management, this method can be said to be relatively cheaper in comparison
to the gold standard, culturing.
