Kokas Ikwapa, Magdalena Jacobsonb, David Okello Owinya,
George William Nasinyamaa, Claes Fellströmb and Joseph
a
Erume
a College
of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, P. O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.
bFaculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7070, SE-750 07,
Uppsala, Sweden.
Antigenic types of toxin-producing E. coli from
diarrheic piglets in rural households in Uganda
Introduction
Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) is a major cause of piglet
diarrhea in pig production. In Uganda, this diarrhea has
been diagnosed based on the postmortem lesions.
Control of ETEC infections largely depends on the use of
vaccines against the predominant antigens. This study
was aimed at identifying the antigenic types of these
bacteria from diarrheic piglets in rural households from
Gulu district in northern Uganda.
Materials and Methods
Fecal samples were collected from diarrheic piglets.
E. coli colonies were isolated and gene amplifications
performed.
Postmortem examinations were carried out on piglets
with severe diarrhea.
Results
Gross and histopathological lesions typical of
enterotoxigenic E. coli infections were observed.
 Genes for surface antigens on E. coli, F4 and
AIDA, were detected.
Genes for enterotoxins, STa, STb and EAST1
were also detected.
Diarrheic piglet and Postmortem lesions in the small intestine (Jejunum)
Amplified gene fragments for AIDA and enterotoxin, EAST1 (Red arrowed wells) from E. coli attached to the Jejunum of the above piglet
Conclusion
 Piglets with diarrhea from rural households in Gulu suffer from colibacillosis.
The E. coli identified so far have genes for surface antigens, F4 and AIDA.
Vaccinations could be one of the approaches to control colibacillosis.
Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
www.slu.se
Makerere University, Kampala Uganda
www.makerere.ac.ug