Circulation flow of enteropathogenic bacteria in institutionalized children. I. An epidemiologic study

The circulation flow and maintenance of enteropathogenic bacteria were studied from May 1982 to April 1983 in a population of institutionalized children and adult staff contacts in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Subjects were assigned to three groups: A and B, included, respectively, 105 and 46 children with diarrhea who were admitted in the institution in different periods, and group C with 82 adult contacts. Faecal cultures were positive in 35.2%, 39.1% and 19.7% of subjects of groups A, B, and C, respectively. It suggests that the transmission was probably fostered by the environment because of as high as 30% of faecal contamination was found in environmental samples. Higher rate of isolation and elevated antibodies levels pointed out that Escherichia coli (EPEC) was the prevalent agent. Shigella predominated in the serological tests. These findings suggest that the institution itself may play an important role in the epidemiology and transmission of enteric infections in the community.