Prevalence of Providencia strains among children with diarrhea in Japan

Abstract

SUMMARY: In the present study, we examined the prevalence of Providencia spp. strains among children with diarrhea in Japan. We developed a Providencia genus-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, and the specificity and sensitivity was evaluated to be 100% with various bacterial strains including 7 genera and 13 species. Five of 345 samples (1.4%) were positive by PCR using a Providencia genus-specific primer targeting the 16S rRNA gene. The single species Providencia rettgeri was isolated from 4 stool samples of children with diarrhea. The prevalence of Providencia spp. in children with diarrhea in Japan is lower than that previously reported for Japanese travelers abroad with diarrhea.