The incidence of Shigella spp. was assessed in 877 infants from the public hospital in Rondônia (Western Amazon region, Brazil) where Shigella represents the fourth cause of diarrhea. Twenty-five isolates were identified: 18 were Shigella flexneri, three Shigella sonnei, three Shigella boydii and one Shigella dysenteriae. With the exception of S. dysenteriae, all Shigella spp. isolated from children with diarrhea acquired multiple antibiotic resistances. PCR detection of ipa virulence genes and invasion assays of bloody diarrhea and fever (colitis) were compared among 25 patients testing positive for Shigella. The ipaH and ipaBCD genes were detected in almost all isolates and, unsurprisingly, all Shigella isolates associated with colitis were able to invade HeLa cells. This work alerts for multiple antibiotic resistant Shigella in the region and characterizes presence of ipa virulence genes and invasion phenotypesin dysenteric shigellosis.

Acute gastroenteritis is one of the most common diseases in humans worldwide. Viral gastroenteritis is a global problem in infants and young children. In this study the incidence of diarrhea was assessed in 877 hospitalized children under five years old, over a period of 24 months and distributed in 470 cases of diarrhea and 407 age-matched group with other pathologies, as control group. Two antigen detection techniques based on enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and latex particles were used for detection of rotavirus and adenovirus. Rotavirus A was a major cause of gastroenteritis with 23.6% of cases, being 90% of these cases in young children. Adenovirus infections was detected by EIA with frequency of 6.4%. Rotavirus and adenovirus were detected in 10.1 and 1.7% of stools from control group, respectively. Interestingly, the frequency of the youngest children in the control group excreting Rotavirus A was comparable to that detected in stools from diarrheic children. We cannot rule out the existence of other enteric viruses because the etiology of 171 cases of diarrhea was not determined and active search for astrovirus and calicivirus was not done. This is the first study that shows the presence of enteric viruses in the infantile population from Western Brazilian Amazonia and it was important to help physicians in the treatment of viral gastroenteritis.