An epidemiological study on Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) infection among population of northern region of Iran (Mazandaran and Golestan provinces).

Faecal samples from 3268 randomly selected inhabitants of two provinces in the northern region of Iran were screened to detect Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) using colony sweep polymyxin-B extraction method. Non-sorbitol fermentation phenotype and slide agglutination with O157 and H7 antisera used to detect this serotype. We found that 0.7% of the population were infected with VTEC, however none of the isolates belonged to O157:H7 serotype. We also found that children < 6 years of age were at highest risk of infection with VTEC (p < 0.05). Moreover, a significant association was found between the VTEC and diarrhoeal cases at the same age group (p < 0.001). Overall distribution of the VTEC isolates in the general population was found to be random, though a kind of clustered distribution could be noticed.