OBJECTIVE:

Identifying wild animals as reservoirs of atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (aEPEC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

aEPEC virulence factors (eae and bfp) were investigated in 263 E. coli samples isolated from 260 wild animals captured in three municipalities of Pará State, Brazil (Marabá, Parauapebas and Canaã dos Carajás), from March 2008 to December 2009. The applied research methods were polymerase chain reaction, using specific primers, followed by the eae gene sequencing.

RESULTS:

Among the 263 E. coli samples evaluated, 3.04% (8/263) as aEPEC were observed, with 2.66% (7/263) in rodents and 0.4% (1/263) in marsupials. In the analyzed samples were observed four intimin variants: β1 (samples 574, 812, and 813), β2 (sample 630), ζ (445 and 447 samples), and ε (samples 611 and 856). After the phylogenetic analysis by the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean, the consensus tree was obtained presenting the formation of two groups: the first one composed by KT591282.1, intimin ε1 (611 and 856) with KT591233.1, intimin β1 (574, 812, and 813); and the second one by KT591325.1, intimin ζ (445 and 447) with KT591333.1, intimin β2 (630).

CONCLUSION:

Data showed that aEPEC isolated from wild animals had genetic characteristics similar to those observed in humans, and the animals analyzed may serve as reservoirs for circulating aEPEC.

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