MSc (Med), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011 / Despite being a fulminant pathogen, Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus) is part of the commensal flora of the human nasopharynx. Globally, five meningococcal serogroups (A, B, C, Y and W135) cause the majority of invasive disease. Most serogroup B cases occur sporadically but may be endemic or epidemic within a geographic region. In South Africa, there are limited data on invasive serogroup B clones and the antigenic diversity of certain meningococcal outer membrane proteins. This study examined the molecular epidemiology of serogroup B meningococci in South Africa from 2002 through 2006. Invasive meningococcal isolates were submitted to a national laboratory-based surveillance system. For this study, serogroup B isolates were characterised by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), PorA, FetA and multilocus sequence (MLST) typing. PorA, FetA and multilocus sequence (MLST) typing were performed on all 2005 isolates (n=58) and randomly selected isolates from other years (n=25). A total of 2144 invasive cases were reported over the study period. Of these, 76% (1627/2144) had viable isolates available for serogrouping and 307 (19%) were serogroup B. Serogroup B cases were reported from across the country however the majority were from the Western Cape province. The highest incidence of serogroup B was in children less than 5 years of age. Isolates displayed a high level of diversity by PFGE. Despite this diversity the majority of serogroup B meningococci collected over the 5-year period could be grouped into several clonal clusters representative of global invasive MLST clonal complexes. Overall, the most predominant MLST clones in South Africa were ST-32/ET-5 and ST-41/44/lineage 3. In addition, at least 19 PorA types and 16 FetA types were determined among selected isolates. Globally invasive serogroup B disease is caused by heterogeneous strains however, prolonged outbreaks in several countries have been due to strains of the ST-32/ET-5 and ST-41/44/lineage 3 clonal complexes. At present, serogroup B disease in South Africa is not dominated by an epidemic clone, however, global clonal complexes ST-32/ET-5 and ST-41/44/lineage 3 are circulating in Western Cape and Gauteng, respectively.

Development of a broadly cross-protective capsular group B meningococcal (MenB) vaccine has been hampered by poor capsular immunogenicity and often diverse and poorly cross-protective subcapsular antigens. The MenB MC58 strain genome has facilitated the discovery of novel, relatively conserved vaccine candidates. The four-component MenB (4CMenB) investigational vaccine contains factor H-binding protein (fHbp; variant 1), neisserial heparin-binding antigen (NHBA), Neisserial adhesin A (NadA) and PorA P1.4-containing outer membrane vesicles. The latter are known to elicit protection against homologous strains. Clinical trials have demonstrated protective responses in infants and adults against isolates expressing homologous PorA or fHbp (subvariant 1.P1), or heterologous NadA (variant 2). Cross-protective responses have also been demonstrated in adults and, to a lesser extent, infants, against isolates expressing heterologous fHbp variant 1 subvariants. The contribution of NHBA is still poorly understood. MenB currently accounts for 87% of invasive meningococcal disease in England and Wales. The proportion of disease due to the ST-269 clonal complex (cc269) peaked at 45.6% in 2006 and is currently approximately 24.2%. The aims of this study were (i) to genotypically assess potential 4CMenB coverage against recent English and Welsh invasive disease isolates and, specifically, cc269 isolates from England and Wales and other countries, (ii) to compare phenotypic expression levels of the 4CMenB antigens (excluding PorA) among typical cc269 isolates, and (iii) to assess 4CMenB responses against typical cc269 isolates among healthy adults administered 4CMenB.Full length alleles for fHbp variant 1, NHBA and NadA variants 1, 2 and 3 were present in 64.6%, >99% and 7.1%, respectively, of English and Welsh invasive disease isolates from 2007/8. Between 67.5% and >99% (adults) or 25.7% and 43.5% (infants) of the isolates were predicted to be covered by 4CMenB. cc269 comprised two antigenically distinct lineages (clusters) centred around ST-269 and ST-275, respectively. These accounted for 57% and 40% of cc269 in 2007/8. Both clusters effectively lacked nadA and PorA P1.4. The predominant fHbp;NHBA profiles represented by the respective clusters were 1.P15;P0021 and (1.P13 or 2.P19);P0017. Between 77.4% and 100% (adults) or 2.2% and 27.1% (infants) of cc269 isolates from 2007/8 were predicted to be covered by 4CMenB. Estimates for infants were conservative due to e.g. the exclusion of NHBA. Serum bactericidal antibody (SBA) analyses targeting typical fHbp variant 1-expressing cc269 strains, indicated high levels of coverage among adults administered 4CMenB. Notable differences among genotypically matched isolates e.g. in terms of SBA geometric mean titres, were not reflected in the relative fHbp and NHBA expression levels. Such differences may lead to conflicting estimates of coverage in infant populations. Whilst these are investigated further it seems prudent to use typical isolates giving mid-range responses when assessing SBA, and therefore protection, among infants. Potential 4CMenB coverage of cc269 and the broader meningococcal population in England and Wales was high among adults and encouraging among infants when compared to that of existing MenB vaccines.

Infecções por Neisseria meningitidis estão associadas a altos índices de morbimortalidade no mundo. Na Região da Grande São Paulo a Doença Meningocócica (DM) causada por Neisseria meningitidis sorogrupo C começou a se tornar prevalente em 2001 , representando, em 2003, 62,7% de todos os casos de DM sorogrupados sendo que aproximadamente 88,5% dessas cepas eram não sorotipados e não sorosubtipados (C:NST:NSST). Estes dados sugeriam que um fenótipo, C: NST:NSST, tinha emergido na Grande São Paulo e, considerando-se a importância histórica da doença na região, iniciamos o presente estudo com o objetivo de esclarecer a mudança na dinâmica da DM pela determinação das características fenotípicas e genotípicas destas cepas. Para tanto, analisamos por sorotipagem, tipagem das regiões Variáveis da PorA e PorB e do gene 16S RNA ribossomal, 753 cepas de N. meningitidis C isoladas de casos de DM provenientes da Grande São Paulo, no período de 1990 a 2003. Dado a impossibilidade de caracterização do novo fenótipo pelos anticorpos monoclonais disponíveis mundialmente, objetivamos também a produção de hibridomas produtores desses anticorpos para caracterização do fenótipo C:NST:NSST. Foram selecionadas duas linhagens celulares híbridas, produtoras de anticorpos monoclonais que reconhecem as proteínas PorA e PorB deste novo fenótipo. Entre as 255 cepas de N. meningitidis C inicialmente caracterizadas como NST:NSST, 75% (n=191) tomaram-se completamente sorotipadas como 23:P1.14-6. A análise da similaridade do gene 16S RNA ribossomal das cepas analisadas demonstrou um único padrão genético, sugerindo a clonalidade deste novo fenótipo. Os dados obtidos neste trabalho, demonstram a introdução, na Região da Grande São Paulo, de um novo clone de Neisseria meningitidis C apresentando o fenótipo C:23:P1.14-6 e que está sendo responsável pelo aumento dos casos de DM causada por este sorogrupo. / Neisseria meningitidis (Men) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality and is a leading cause of bacterial meningitis and septicemia in children and young adults in Brazil. Meningococcal disease caused by MenC started becoming the most prevalent serogroup in 2001, representing 62.7% of all MD cases serogrouped in 2003 in Greater Sao Paulo and approximately 88.5% of MenC isolates were nonserotypeable and non-serosubtypeable (NST:NSST). This data suggested that a novel invasive isolate (C:NT:NSST) had emerged in GSP, and considering the historical importance of MenC disease in the region, we initiated this study to better understand the dynamics of MD looking at the phenotypic and molecular characteristics of these isolates. To accomplish this goal, we characterized 753 MenC isolates recovered during the period of 1990 to 2003 by serotyping, PorS and PorA VR typing, 16S rRNA gene typing and produced new serotyping monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to characterize the C:NST:NSST isolates. We were able to select two hybridoma cells that recognizes PorB and PorA proteins. Among the 255 strains initially characterized as NST:NSST, 75% (n=191) of them became completely serotyped as 23:P1 .14-6. Sy 16S RNA ribossomal typing, these strains showed the same pattern suggesting strain clonality. Our data demonstrate the introduction of a new clone of Neisseria rneningitidis C presenting the phenotype C:23:P1.14-6 and that is being responsible for the increase of the cases of DM caused by this serogroup in Great Sao Paulo.

Infecções por Neisseria meningitidis estão associadas a altos índices de morbimortalidade no mundo. Na Região da Grande São Paulo a Doença Meningocócica (DM) causada por Neisseria meningitidis sorogrupo C começou a se tornar prevalente em 2001 , representando, em 2003, 62,7% de todos os casos de DM sorogrupados sendo que aproximadamente 88,5% dessas cepas eram não sorotipados e não sorosubtipados (C:NST:NSST). Estes dados sugeriam que um fenótipo, C: NST:NSST, tinha emergido na Grande São Paulo e, considerando-se a importância histórica da doença na região, iniciamos o presente estudo com o objetivo de esclarecer a mudança na dinâmica da DM pela determinação das características fenotípicas e genotípicas destas cepas. Para tanto, analisamos por sorotipagem, tipagem das regiões Variáveis da PorA e PorB e do gene 16S RNA ribossomal, 753 cepas de N. meningitidis C isoladas de casos de DM provenientes da Grande São Paulo, no período de 1990 a 2003. Dado a impossibilidade de caracterização do novo fenótipo pelos anticorpos monoclonais disponíveis mundialmente, objetivamos também a produção de hibridomas produtores desses anticorpos para caracterização do fenótipo C:NST:NSST. Foram selecionadas duas linhagens celulares híbridas, produtoras de anticorpos monoclonais que reconhecem as proteínas PorA e PorB deste novo fenótipo. Entre as 255 cepas de N. meningitidis C inicialmente caracterizadas como NST:NSST, 75% (n=191) tomaram-se completamente sorotipadas como 23:P1.14-6. A análise da similaridade do gene 16S RNA ribossomal das cepas analisadas demonstrou um único padrão genético, sugerindo a clonalidade deste novo fenótipo. Os dados obtidos neste trabalho, demonstram a introdução, na Região da Grande São Paulo, de um novo clone de Neisseria meningitidis C apresentando o fenótipo C:23:P1.14-6 e que está sendo responsável pelo aumento dos casos de DM causada por este sorogrupo. / Neisseria meningitidis (Men) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality and is a leading cause of bacterial meningitis and septicemia in children and young adults in Brazil. Meningococcal disease caused by MenC started becoming the most prevalent serogroup in 2001, representing 62.7% of all MD cases serogrouped in 2003 in Greater Sao Paulo and approximately 88.5% of MenC isolates were nonserotypeable and non-serosubtypeable (NST:NSST). This data suggested that a novel invasive isolate (C:NT:NSST) had emerged in GSP, and considering the historical importance of MenC disease in the region, we initiated this study to better understand the dynamics of MD looking at the phenotypic and molecular characteristics of these isolates. To accomplish this goal, we characterized 753 MenC isolates recovered during the period of 1990 to 2003 by serotyping, PorS and PorA VR typing, 16S rRNA gene typing and produced new serotyping monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to characterize the C:NST:NSST isolates. We were able to select two hybridoma cells that recognizes PorB and PorA proteins. Among the 255 strains initially characterized as NST:NSST, 75% (n=191) of them became completely serotyped as 23:P1 .14-6. Sy 16S RNA ribossomal typing, these strains showed the same pattern suggesting strain clonality. Our data demonstrate the introduction of a new clone of Neisseria rneningitidis C presenting the phenotype C:23:P1.14-6 and that is being responsible for the increase of the cases of DM caused by this serogroup in Great Sao Paulo.

Three Legionella-like organisms isolated from patients with pneumonia are shown to belong to the species Legionella sainthelensi by DNA hybridization studies and to a new serogroup, serogroup 2, by serological studies (ATCC 49322). L. sainthelensi serogroup 2 and L. santicrusis are indistinguishable bu slide agglutination, but are separable on the basis of their cell wall fatty acid profiles. © 1990.

Kenya has experienced severe arboviral outbreaks of public health concern in the recent past, including yellow fever (YF), Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), chikungunya, and Rift Valley fever (RVF) among others. Most of these infections are under diagnosed and hence neglected due to non-specific nature of their symptoms. Often they are mistaken for endemic tropical diseases such as malaria and typhoid infections and are only recognized during major outbreaks which result in adverse public health and economic consequences to the affected communities. Ongoing inter-epidemic surveillance in RVF virus hotspots in Kenya has indicated continued intense transmission of Bunyamwera virus (BUNV) in the absence or under low level activity of RVF virus. BUNV belongs to the genus Orthobunyavirus of the family Bunyaviridae. These are segmented RNA viruses whose members have the potential for genetic reassotment and/or drift. Recently, Ngari virus (NRIV), a natural reassortant virus associated with hemorrhagic fever was documented to have emerged from BUNV, which previously was not associated with such symptoms. However, the vectors that are involved in the maintenance and transmission of BUNV and NRIV are diverse and their role in virus maintenance/dynamics is poorly known. It is thus important to investigate the dynamics of BUNV and NRIV in selected transmission foci in an effort to understand their circulation better in order to be able to control and predict outbreaks. In this study, we determined the evolutionary and phenotypic diversity of BUNV and NRIV isolates previously obtained from vectors in parts of Kenya. We have provided genetic sequences of two BUNV and three NRIV isolates which contribute to addressing paucity of genetic sequences associated with this group of viruses. Phylogenetic analysis of these sequences in addition to other sequences in GenBank revealed evidence of geographic/temporal clustering that requires further investigation. Next, we demonstrated that plaque purified phenotypes of selected BUNV and NRIV isolates differ in in vivo growth kinetics and pathogenicity in mice, possibly related to specific mutations within the genome. The phenotypic changes and identification of mutations possibly associated with these changes support further investigation of specific mutations using site directed mutagenesis. In addition, we determined the competence of some of the mosquito species implicated in their transmission, Anopheles gambiae, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefaciatus and evaluated the dynamics of their transmission in these vectors. We conclude that Anopheles gambiae is likely a more competent vector for NRIV than Aedes aegypti and is a moderately competent vector for BUNV, which has implications for animal movement in malaria endemic areas where the vector is present. We also report evidence of BUNV transovarial transmission in both Aedes aegypti and Anopheles gambiae with the prevalence of transmission related to the ovarian cycle. Finally, we determined the level of human exposure to these viruses in the transmission foci. Orthobunyavirus-specific antibodies were detected by plaque reduction neutralization test in 89 (25.8%) of 345 persons tested. Multivariable analysis revealed age and residence in North Eastern Kenya as risk factors. In conclusion, we propose that acute febrile disease surveillance needs to be implemented in North Eastern Kenya. This study helps identify the virus strains/populations and the vector species that play a critical role in sustenance and transmission of BUNV and NRIV in different ecosystems in the country. All these are important in understanding virus circulation, potential for emergence and risk to populations in areas of circulation, and will help in making decisions for intervention and management. Generated sequence data in this study contributes to global phylogenetic characterization of Orthobunyaviruses worldwide and their molecular epidemiology. The study also shed light/improve our knowledge on the genetic stability or diversity and evolutionary trends of Orthobunyavirus strains in Kenya. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / Medical Virology / PhD / Unrestricted

Background: Neisseria meningitidis is a gram-negative bacterium with the potential to cause invasive disease. Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) can be fatal if delay to antibiotic therapy. There are six serogroups, which are capable of causing invasive disease in humans; A, B, C, W, X and Y. Since 2015, serogroup W and serogroup Y account for the majority of IMD cases reported in Sweden. Aim: To investigate the clinical presentations of IMD caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup W and Y. Method: Two databases, PubMed and Cochrane, were used to find articles that described the clinical picture of IMD. Articles with description of clinical features of the studied serogroups and with eight cases or more in every study were included. In addition, only original articles were included. Results: A total of 633 articles were found and 11 fulfilled all the inclusion criteria. Five out of seven articles found meningococcemia as the predominating presentation of serogroup W IMD. Two out of the four articles that studied serogroup Y IMD found meningitis at a higher number. Conclusion: The results of this systematic review suggest meningococcemia as a relatively common presentation of serogroup W IMD while meningitis and pneumonia might occur more frequently in serogroup Y IMD. However, these results should be interpreted carefully because the included articles were mostly retrospective studies and future prospective studies are needed to better identify clinical presentations of serogroup W and Y IMD.

Neisseria meningitidis, also referred to as meningococcus, is one of the leading causes of epidemic meningitis and septicaemia worldwide. Despite modern treatment, meningococcal disease remains associated with a high mortality (about 10%). Meningococcal disease is mainly restricted to specific hypervirulent lineages and specific capsular groups (serogroups), which have a changing global distribution over time. At the end of the 2000s, the previously unusual serogroup Y emerged, corresponding to half of all of the invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) cases in Sweden by the beginning of the 2010s. The aim of this thesis is to describe the emergence of serogroup Y meningococci genetically in an effort to understand some of the factors involved in the successful spread of this group throughout Sweden. In addition, genetic typing schemes were evaluated for surveillance and outbreak investigation. Our results indicate that the currently recommended typing for surveillance of meningococci could be altered to include the factor H-binding protein (fHbp). A highly variable multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis (HV-MLVA) was able to confirm connected cases in a suspected small outbreak. In addition, a strain type sharing the same porA, fetA, porB, fHbp, penA and multilocus sequence type was found to be the principal cause of the increase in serogroup Y disease. However, a deeper resolution obtained from the core genomes revealed a subtype of this strain, which was mainly responsible for the increase. Finally, when the Swedish serogroup Y genomes were compared internationally, different strains seemed to dominate in different regions. This indicates that the increase was probably not due to one or more point introductions of a strain previously known internationally but more probably multifactorial.

Submitted by Ana Maria Fiscina Sampaio (fiscina@bahia.fiocruz.br) on 2015-09-29T16:45:14Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Alcinéia Oliveira Damiao caracterização ....PDF.pdf: 1250268 bytes, checksum: 8e253d5ec93aa5123f3f85b88d8bc154 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Maria Fiscina Sampaio (fiscina@bahia.fiocruz.br) on 2015-09-29T16:45:29Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Alcinéia Oliveira Damiao caracterização ....PDF.pdf: 1250268 bytes, checksum: 8e253d5ec93aa5123f3f85b88d8bc154 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-09-29T16:45:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Alcinéia Oliveira Damiao caracterização ....PDF.pdf: 1250268 bytes, checksum: 8e253d5ec93aa5123f3f85b88d8bc154 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil / A leptospirose é uma zoonose de distribuição mundial, com 1,2 milhões de casos registrados a cada ano. De 1996 a 2013, o grupo de pesquisa de leptospirose do CPqGM, realiza uma vigilância ativa no Hospital Couto Maia em Salvador-Ba, onde foi recrutado 4612 casos suspeitos para leptospirose. Destes 4612 foi confirmado o diagnóstico de 1853 (40%) utilizando pelo menos um dos três métodos de diagnóstico (MAT, Hemocultura, qPCR). Dentre os casos confirmados, 1759 (95%) foram confirmados pelo MAT. A sensibilidade do MAT foi diferente entre as amostras aguda e convalescente, sendo 60% na fase aguda e 97% na fase convalescente. O sorogrupo Icterohaemorrhagiae foi o mais prevalente (90%) dos casos confirmados para MAT. Durante o período do estudo foram coletadas 1133 hemoculturas e destas 203 (18%) foram positivas, sendo possível isolar leptospiras de 93/203 (45%) das hemoculturas, as quais foram soro-agrupadas com soros heterológos de coelho. A concordância entre o sorogrupo encontrado no MAT e na soro-agrupagem foi de 80%. Os achados mostram que existe uma concordância significante entre o sorogrupo encontrado pelos dois métodos, o que indica que o painel de cepas utilizado no MAT apresenta uma ótima cobertura para os sorogrupos prevalentes na região. A predominância de um sorogrupo facilitou quanto a tomadas de decisões para prevenção e controle, assim como facilita para o desenvolvimento de novos testes de diagnóstico e vacinas mais direcionados. / Leptospirosis is a re-emerging zoonotic disease of global importance, with 1,2 million cases reported each year. Diagnosis of leptospirosis is often difficult given the nonspecific disease presentation. In order to compare the performance of the two gold standard diagnostic tests for leptospirosis, the group enrolled 4612 patients with suspected leptospirosis during active surveillance at the state infectious disease reference hospital, Hospital Couto Maia, in Salvador, Bahia between 1996 and 2013. Of these, was confirmed Leptospira infection in 1853 (40%) using at least one of three diagnostic methods (microagglutination (MAT), blood culture, and qPCR). Was confirmed 1759 (95%) cases using only the MAT assay, and identified the serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae as the infective agent in 90% of MAT positive samples. It was determined the sensitivity of the MAT was 60% for acute phase samples and increased to 97% for convalescent samples. Within this study period, it was possible to collect 1133 blood cultures and was isolated leptospires from 93 of 203 (45%) of blood cultures, and determined the serotype using heterologous rabbit sera. The concordance between the infective serogroup identified using hemoculture and MAT techniques was 80%. This result indicates that the panel of 11 strains used in the MAT represents a majority of the infective serogroups causing disease in our study population. The predominance of a single serogroup in symptomatic cases informs the development of new diagnostic tests and novel vaccines to prevent leptospirosis in Brazil.

Resumo: Pesquisou-se a ocorrência de E. coli (EPEC, EIEC, EHEC) em água e peixe (pele, trato gastrintestinal e músculo) de pesque-pagues da microbacia do Córrego Rico, Jaboticabal, SP. A amostragem foi realizada entre os meses de abril e junho de 2008 em cinco pesque-pagues. Em cada um, foram colhidos dez exemplares de peixes adultos, e para análise foram colhidas amostras do músculo, do trato gastrintestinal e da superfície corpórea. As amostras de água foram colhidas em cinco pontos distintos de todos os pesque-pague. As colônias com características morfológicas relativas à E. coli isoladas do ágar MacConkey foram submetidas a confirmação bioquímica. Posteriormente, os isolados foram identificados sorologicamente como EPEC, EIEC e EHEC e realizado os testes de susceptibilidade a antimicrobianos e atividade hemolítica. Assim, foram isoladas 115 cepas de E. coli, entre as quais 81 (70%) foram sorogrupadas como EPEC, 5 (4%) como EHEC e 8 (7%) como EIEC. Os sorogrupos mais frenquentes foram O125 (13,9%), O126 (11,3%) e O158 (10,4%). Dentre as amostras testadas, 60 (52%) apresentaram resistência simultânea a dois antimicrobianos. A Análise de Correspondência foi realizada com intuito de verificar as possíveis correspondências envolvendo o local de isolamento, sorogrupos e multirresistência e com isso pode-se observar que o músculo foi o local de isolamento com menor correlação aos demais fatores. Enquanto água, trato e pele apresentaram maior correspondência entre si. Assim, a presença de um alto número de isolados EPEC nesse estudo indica contaminação por enteropatógenos possivelmente advindos de fezes de animais, humanas e/ou águas contaminadas, representando risco à saúde dos frequentadores destes pesque-pagues e consumidores do pescado. / Abstract: The occurrence of Escherichia coli (EPEC, EIEC, EHEC) in water and fish (skin, gastrointestinal tract and muscle) was surveyed in fee fishing from the stream Rico micro-basin, Jaboticabal, São Paulo/Brazil. Samples were collected between april and june 2008 in five fee fishing. In each fee fishing, ten copies were collected from adult fish and for analysis were sampled muscle, gastrointestinal tract and body surface. Water samples were collected from five different points of all fee fishing. Thus, we isolated colonies from the MacConkey agar with morphological characteristics related to E. coli for biochemical confirmation. Subsequently, the isolates were identified serologically as EPEC, EIEC and EHEC and performed tests of antimicrobial susceptibility and hemolytic activity. It was found that among 115 strains of E. coli isolated, 81 (70%) were serologically classified as EPEC, 5 (4%) as EHEC and 8 (7%) as EIEC. The most common serogroups were O125 (13.9%), O126 (11.3%) e O158 (10.4%). From the 115 bacterial isolates, 60 (52%) were resistant to two antimicrobials. The Correspondence Analysis was performed to verify possible matches involving the location of isolation, serogroup and antimicrobial resistance and that can be observed that the muscle had lower correlation to other factors. While water and tract and skin had correlation with each other. Probably, the isolation of EPEC serogroups in this study indicates contamination by pathogens coming from animals, human and/or contaminated water, constituting a potential risk to the consumer health of these fee fishing. / Orientador: Fernando Antonio de Ávila / Coorientador: Luiz Augusto do Amaral / Banca: Manoel Victor Franco Lemos / Banca: Luiz Florencio Franco Margatho / Mestre