Escherichia coli O157 is an emergent pathogen associated with diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome. Meat products constitute an important transmission source of this microorganism. The aims of this study were to characterize E. coli O157 isolated from cattle and meat products collected from abattoirs and retail stores, to establish the clonal relatedness among regional isolates and to compare them with those in the national database. Between 2004 and 2013, 169 minced meat, 35 sausage and 216 carcass samples were analyzed. Thirteen E. coli O157 isolates were identified; 6 of which were O157:H7 and characterized as stx2c(vh-a)/eae/ehxA (n = 5) and stx2/eae/ehxA (n = 1). The 7 remaining isolates were non-toxigenic E. coli strains, and serotyped as O157:NT (n = 4), O157:NM (n = 1), O157:ND (n = 1) and O157:H16 (n = 1). The strains yielded different XbaI-PFGE patterns. Compared to the E. coli O157 isolates in the National Database, none of these patterns have been previously detected in strains of different origin in Argentina.

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Cattle are the main reservoir of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), and the strategies to prevent the transmission of these microorganisms are concentrated in the slaughtering plant. The aim of this study was to evaluate the hygienic-sanitary quality and the frequency of detection of STEC in beef carcasses in abattoirs from Tucuman province. Two hundred and seventy four beef carcass sponges were processed; the count of generic E. coli was marginal in 9 (3,3%) of them. Escherichia coli O157 was isolated in 4 (1,4%) samples; 2 of which were characterized as stx/eae/ehxA whereas the other 2 were non-toxigenic strains. Non-O157 E. coli ONT:H49, stx/ehxA/saa was isolated from 1 sample (0,4%). In this work the quality of the analyzed product indicates that the good practices of manufacture are fulfilled in slaughtering facilities in Tucumán province.