Escherichia coli isolated from feces of diarrheic piglets. Patterns of adherence to HEp-2 cells

Abstract

Diarrheic feces from 150 piglets younger than 40 days old, were examined in order to isolate E. coli strains and test their adherence capacity to HEp-2 cells. For this purpose, samples were seeded on eosin methylen blue agar. 
Isolated E. coli strains were cultured in tryptone broth with 1% D-mannose and then inoculated to HEp-2 monolayer cells.. 
Strains with adherence capacity were obtained from 20 piglets. In 11 piglets (7.3%) the isolated strains showed localised adherence; in 5 piglets (3.3, they had an aggregative pattern of adherence and in 4 piglets (2.7%), they showed a pattern of diffuse adherence.