Molecular-based evidence for school transmission of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli among apparently healthy children attending nursery, infant, and primary schools in Madrid (Spain)

Abstract

Information on the epidemiology, transmission dynamics, and public health impact of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) infection in schoolchildren from high-income countries is scarce. This study investigated the occurrence of EAEC infections in apparently healthy children (0-12 years) attending nursery, infant, and primary schools in Spain. High-resolution whole-genome sequencing typing was used to detect and trace back unnoticed episodes of transmission within school settings. An overall EAEC prevalence of 5.1% was observed, with children in the 0-3 age group showing the highest prevalence (24.2%). Besides their gastrointestinal potential, 17% of EAEC isolates revealed an additional urinary/systemic pathogenic potential. Presumptive outbreaks of EAEC infection were identified in two different nursery schools involving the endemic subtypes O126:H27-ST200 (15 children) and O111:H21-ST40 (12 children). Most affected children shared caregivers and common areas including activity, eating, sleeping, and diapering/toileting rooms. Direct person-to-person transmission was highly suspected, although foodborne transmission could not be completely ruled out. Six independent micro-foci of EAEC infections were additionally identified in five different infant and primary schools also involving O126:H27-ST200 (two children) and O111:H21-ST40 (three children), as well as O3:H2-ST10 (three children), O44:H18-ST1380 (two children and two siblings), and ONT:H33-ST34 (four children). No clear information was available on the sources of infection and transmission routes in these settings.

Conclusion: Apparently healthy Spanish schoolchildren may be carriers and potential spreaders of certain EAEC subtypes with gastrointestinal/extra-intestinal pathogenic potential. While transmission within school settings appears to be the most likely explanation for the EAEC genomic clusters identified, particularly among toddlers, extra-school infections through alternative pathways cannot be entirely ruled out.