Incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in women of reproductive age is increasing, leading to rising numbers of women with HCV infection in pregnancy and concerns of perinatal transmission. In April 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began recommending HCV screening during each pregnancy. We describe maternal characteristics and timing of HCV testing among pregnant women identified with HCV infection. |

BACKGROUND: Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) are an important cause of acute gastroenteritis in children; however, there is limited information available on the epidemiology, phylogenetics, serotyping, and antibiotic susceptibility of DEC in children in the United States. The aim of this study was to determine the molecular epidemiology of DEC among children with and without acute gastroenteritis in Davidson County, Tennessee. METHODS: This prospective, frequency matched, case-control study recruited subjects 15 days to 17 years of age and detected DEC with polymerase chain reaction from stool samples. Additional testing was done to define phylogenetics and antibiotics resistance. RESULTS: Among 1267 participants, 857 cases and 410 controls, 5.5 % were positive for at least one subtype of DEC. Enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) [n=32 (45%)] was the most common subtype followed by enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) [n=30 (43%)], Shiga toxin-producing E. coli [n=4 (6%)], and diffusely adherent E. coli [n=4 (6%)]. No significant difference in prevalence of DEC was found between cases (5%) and controls (7%) [Odds ratio (OR): 0.66 (95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.4-1.07)] and results were similar when data were stratified by subtypes and adjusted for age, sex, race, and ethnicity. Substantial diversity was found among DEC isolates in terms of phylotypes and serotypes and a large proportion was resistant to, at least, one antibiotic. CONCLUSIONS: EAEC and EPEC were frequently found in both cases and controls in this study population. DNA-based methods for detection of these subtypes need further investigation to help differentiate between pathogenic and colonizing strains.

This prospective acute gastroenteritis (AGE) surveillance was conducted in the inpatient and emergency room settings at a referral pediatric hospital to determine the prevalence of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) in children <12 years of age with AGE in Davidson County, Tennessee. Subjects 15 days to 11 years of age, who presented with diarrhea and/or vomiting, were enrolled. Stool specimens were processed for detection of DEC using multiplex polymerase chain reaction. From December 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012, a total of 79 (38%) out of 206 stool specimens from children with AGE tested positive for E. coli. A total of 12 (5.8%) out of 206 stool specimens from children with AGE were positive for a DEC. Eight (67%) out of these 12 were positive for enteropathogenic E. coli, and the remaining 4 were positive for enteroaggregative E. coli. DEC clinical isolates clustered with known E. coli enteropathogens according to multilocus sequencing typing.