Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T10:52:29.314Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An epidemiological study of Plesiomonas shigelloides diarrhoea among Japanese travellers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2001

M. SHIGEMATSU ,
M. E. KAUFMANN ,
A. CHARLETT ,
Y. NIHO  and
T. L. PITT
M. SHIGEMATSU
Affiliation:
The First Department of Internal Medicine, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan Control of Infectious Diseases, Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, University of London, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
M. E. KAUFMANN
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Hospital Infection, Central Public Health Laboratory, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5HT, UK
A. CHARLETT
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory Service, Statistics Unit, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK
Y. NIHO
Affiliation:
The First Department of Internal Medicine, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
T. L. PITT
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Hospital Infection, Central Public Health Laboratory, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5HT, UK
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Plesiomonas shigelloides is often regarded as a non-pathogenic bacterial species that is occasionally isolated from patients with diarrhoea. However, a review of travellers returning to Japan with diarrhoeal illness through Kansai Airport revealed that the incidence of P. shigelloides from microbiologically confirmed cases increased from 23·2% in 1987 to 77·8% in 1999. We carried out a descriptive epidemiological study to identify patterns associated with diarrhoea due to this organism. Selected P. shigelloides isolates from this patient group were compared by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of SpeI total chromosomal DNA digests to determine their genetic heterogeneity. Over the study period (whole of 1996 and first 2 months of 1999), 1149 of 1659 (69·3%) patients with microbiologically confirmed gastroenteritis yielded P. shigelloides. Infection was characterized by watery diarrhoea five times per day that persisted for 3 days. No statistically significant association was found between factors such as age, gender, destination, length of trip, but multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed an association between additional symptoms (vomiting, fever, abdominal pain) age and gender. The molecular fingerprints of a selection of 39 isolates and 3 reference strains of P. shigelloides were highly variable and each had a unique profile. We conclude that although P. shigelloides infections are usually mild and self-limiting, this organism may contribute to a significant proportion of travellers' diarrhoea in the Orient. The species is characterized by great heterogeneity at the DNA level.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 125 , Issue 3 , December 2000 , pp. 523 - 530
Copyright
2000 Cambridge University Press