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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, August 1999, p. 2399-2401, Vol. 37, No. 8
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Prototypal Diarrheagenic Strains of Hafnia alvei Are Actually Members of the Genus Escherichia

J. Michael Janda,1,* Sharon L. Abbott,1 and M. John Albert2

Microbial Diseases Laboratory, Division of Communicable Disease Control, California Department of Health Services, Berkeley, California 94704-1011,1 and International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh2

Received 8 February 1999/Returned for modification 9 April 1999/Accepted 19 April 1999

We analyzed five bacterial strains, designated 19982, 9194, 10457, 10790, and 12502, that were isolated from stool specimens of individuals with diarrheal illness by the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Dhaka, Bangladesh (M. J. Albert, S. M. Faruque, M. Ansaruzzaman, M. M. Islam, K. Haider, K. Alam, I. Kabir, and R. Robins-Browne, J. Med. Microbiol. 37:310-314, 1992). The strains were initially identified as Hafnia alvei with a commercial identification system and were reported to contain the eae gene of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. Results of conventional biochemical analyses, testing of susceptibility to cephalothin, lysis by a Hafnia-specific phage, and amplification of the outer membrane protein gene phoE with species-specific primers support the identification of these strains as members of the genus Escherichia rather than Hafnia alvei. These strains varied from typical E. coli strains by their inability to produce acid from lactose or D-sorbitol and failure to elaborate the enzyme beta -D-glucuronidase. PCR analysis confirmed previous findings that the strains were positive for the eae gene and negative for other virulence markers present among recognized categories of diarrheagenic E. coli. Our findings support the hypothesis that these strains are a new category of diarrheagenic isolates belonging to the genus Escherichia and illustrate the importance of using multiple methodologies when identifying new bacterial agents of diarrheal disease.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Microbial Diseases Laboratory, 2151 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94704-1011. Phone: (510) 540-2242. Fax: (510) 540-2374. E-mail: JJANDA{at}DHS.CA.GOV.


Journal of Clinical Microbiology, August 1999, p. 2399-2401, Vol. 37, No. 8
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



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