Starting off with a stool sample from a Malawian child with kwashiorkor, Planer used the anaerobic chamber to culture as many of the microbes within it as possible.
Sequence comparison of the amplification products obtained from the potato stew and a stool sample from an infected child verified that the two viruses were identical.
Eighteen of the 154 individuals submitted two livestock samples while 53 people only provided a stool sample from themselves.
Type E toxin was detected in a stool sample from one patient.
A single stool sample from each patient was sent for microscopy and culture.
A stool sample was requested from each participating child.
With written informed consent, a stool sample was collected from each participant.
On day one of urine collection, a stool sample was collected from each participant as well.
A stool sample was requested from each participating child and was collected in air tight containers either at time of the encounter, at the end of the day, or the following morning.
Microbes found in stool samples from each child and in dust particles from their homes are also being analyzed by researchers at the Harvard/MIT Broad Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
