This study aimed to investigate the distribution of virulence factor genes in Shigella strains isolated from children with diarrhea in the southwest, Iran. In this cross-sectional study, 1530 diarrheal stool specimens were collected from children aged under 15 years. The Shigella strains were identified by biochemical methods and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Subsequently, all Shigella isolates were evaluated by PCR for the presence of nine virulence genes ipaH (responsible for dissemination from cell to cell), ial (responsible for epithelial cell penetration), sat (displays cytopathic activity in several intestinal cell lines), sigA (toxic to epithelial cells), pic (associated with colonization), pet (cytotoxic for epithelial cells), sepA (contribute to intestinal inflammation and colonization), virF and invE (regulatory proteins). A total of 91 isolates including 47 S. flexneri, 36 S. sonnei, and 8 S. boydii were identified. All isolates were positive for the ipaH gene. The other genes include ial, virF, invE, sigA, sat, sepA, pic and pet found in 84.6%, 72.5%, 68.1%, 62.6%, 51.6%, 39.5%, 37.3% and 28.5% of the isolates, respectively. The results showed a high distribution of virulence genes among Shigella strains in our region. It seems that for different Shigella spp. different virulence factors contribute to pathogenesis. The current study provided insights into some baseline information about the distribution of some virulence genes of Shigella isolates in Southwest Iran.
Keywords: Diarrhea; Polymerase chain reaction; Shigella; Virulence factor.