Unveiling the Prevalence of Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli and its Relationship with Gut Microbial Communities in Asymptomatic Children in Jakarta

The presence of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC), a pathogenic bacterium that can cause gastrointestinal and systemic diseases in children, has important implications for transmission and potential development of disease. The prevalence of DEC in asymptomatic-healthy children living in Jakarta and its association with gut microflora were studied in this research. A total of 300 fecal samples were collected from 3 clinics in Jakarta. The phenotype of DEC was determined based on the presence of virulent genes by PCR detection and sequencing The prevalence of DEC among asymptomatic healthy children was 16% (49/300), and 1.5 % of them (5/300) harbored multiple DEC. Furthermore, respondents positive for DEC were grouped as DEC, and respondents negative for DEC were grouped as NDEC. The V1-V2 region of the 16S rRNA was used to determine the composition of gut microbiota using Illumina's MiniSeq. Actinobacteria was higher in NDEC (5.22 + 10.44) compared to DEC (2.32 + 2.11) (p < 0.05). Actinobacteria has a pivotal role in maintaining gut homeostasis. In conclusion, despite becoming a pathogen reservoir, children harboring DEC have a lower percentage of phyla that are responsible for maintaining gut homeostasis. However, the impact of DEC on gut wellness needs to be studied further .