{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T19:37:01Z","timestamp":1789414621812,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]],"date-time":"2026-07-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783641600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Shiga toxin producing\n                    <jats:italic>Escherichia coli<\/jats:italic>\n                    (STEC) is a zoonotic pathogen associated with diarhoeal disease and severe complications in children, yet its epidemiology in pastoral settings of Tanzania remains insufficiently characterized. This study determined the prevalence, virulence gene profiles and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of STEC among children aged 6\u200d-59 months with diarhoea in Longido District, northern Tanzania. A hospital based cross-sectional\u200d study was conducted between July and August 2025, enrolling 150 participants from four health facilities. Stool samples were collected and analyzed using culture, serological conformation and multiplex polymerase chain reaction targeting five genes;\n                    <jats:italic>rfbE<\/jats:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <jats:italic>stx1<\/jats:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <jats:italic>stx2<\/jats:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <jats:italic>eae<\/jats:italic>\n                    <jats:italic>A<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u00a0and\n                    <jats:italic>hly<\/jats:italic>\n                    <jats:italic>A<\/jats:italic>\n                    . STEC was operationally defined by detection of\n                    <jats:italic>stx1<\/jats:italic>\n                    and\/or\n                    <jats:italic>stx2<\/jats:italic>\n                    . Antibiotic susceptibility was assessed using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. The prevalence of STEC was\u200d 13.3% (20\/\u200d150). All\n                    <jats:italic>stx2<\/jats:italic>\n                    positive isolates co-occurred with\n                    <jats:italic>stx1<\/jats:italic>\n                    . Virulence genes showed a heterogeneous but significantly clustered distribution, with\n                    <jats:italic>rfbE<\/jats:italic>\n                    (20.0%) and stx1 (13.3%) predominating. Significant co-occurrence was observed\u200d between\n                    <jats:italic>stx1<\/jats:italic>\n                    and\n                    <jats:italic>eae<\/jats:italic>\n                    and between\n                    <jats:italic>stx1<\/jats:italic>\n                    and\n                    <jats:italic>hlyA<\/jats:italic>\n                    (p\u2009&lt;\u2009.001). Animal contact, raw milk consumption and use of untreated water were significantly associated with STEC infection. Firth penalized logistic regression confirmed these exposures as independent predictors. Antibiotic susceptibility profiles were uniform, with complete susceptibility to ciprofloxacin,\u200d gentamicin, cefotaxime and ceftazidime while ampicillin and trimethoprim showed complete resistance. These findings indicate that STEC transmission in pastoral communities is strongly driven by zoonotic and environmental exposures, characterized by clustered virulence determinants and consistent antibiotic profiles. Limitations include the cross-sectional design and short sampling period, which may not capture seasonal variation. Strengthened surveillance and integrated One Health interventions are needed to reduce disease burden.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0353396","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]],"date-time":"2026-07-10T17:41:48Z","timestamp":1783705308000},"page":"e0353396","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Prevalence, virulence profiles and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 among children 6\u201359 months in Longido, Arusha-Tanzania"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7462-3206","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Martin Michael","family":"Martin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Haikael David","family":"Martin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Beatus Modesty","family":"Lyimo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0353396.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"57","DOI":"10.1186\/s13099-024-00641-9","article-title":"Overview of pathogenic Escherichia coli, with a focus on Shiga toxin-producing serotypes, global outbreaks (1982\u20132024) and food safety criteria","volume":"16","author":"MA Lhadlaq","year":"2024","journal-title":"Gut Pathogens"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0353396.ref002","article-title":"Ruminant-dense environments increase risk of reported Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli infections independently of ruminant contact","volume":"91","author":"C Wa rd","year":"2025","journal-title":"Appl Environ Microbiol"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0353396.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"687","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms12040687","article-title":"A comprehensive review on Shiga toxin subtypes and their niche-related distribution characteristics in Shiga toxin\u2013producing Escherichia coli and other bacterial hosts","volume":"12","author":"X Wang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Microorganisms"},{"issue":"11","key":"pone.0353396.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1002\/hsr2.71543","article-title":"Evaluation of hypertension in pediatric hemolytic uremic syndrome (a cross-sectional study)","volume":"8","author":"MB Nourmohammadi","year":"2025","journal-title":"Health Sci Rep"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0353396.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"344","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms12020344","article-title":"The science of Shiga toxin-producing (verotoxin-producing) Escherichia coli (STEC): an ongoing one health journey toward improved health and food safety-editorial summary","volume":"12","author":"KD Thomas","year":"2024","journal-title":"Microorganisms"},{"key":"pone.0353396.ref006","unstructured":"Haque MM. 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