DIARRHEAGENIC Escherichia coli IN RAW MILK, WATER, AND CATTLE FECES IN NON-TECHNIFIED DAIRY FARMS

Abstract

This study focused on detecting diarrheagenic Escherichia coli, enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC or STEC:EPEC), enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), and enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) in raw milk, water, and cattle feces sampled from non-technified dairy farms located in the northeastern São Paulo State, Brazil. Thirty-six water samples were collected at different points, namely, water wells (8 samples), water intended for human consumption (8 samples), water from milking parlor (8 samples), and water intended for animal consumption (7 samples), headwaters (1 sample), rivers (3 samples), and reservoirs (1 sample). Three raw milk samples were taken directly from bulk tanks in each farm, totalizing 24 samples. Feces samples were collected using rectal swabs from 160 bovines (20 animals per farm). E. coli was detected in 128 feces samples (80%), 16 raw milk samples (66.67%), and 20 water samples (55.56%). STEC (26 samples, 16.25%), EPEC (10 samples, 6.25%), STEC: EPEC (5 samples, 3.13%), and STEC: ETEC (1 sample, 0.63%) were the most prevalent strains detected in samples from cattle feces. EPEC, STEC, and STEC: EPEC strains were detected in 4.17% (1 sample), 16.67% (4 samples), and 4.17% (1 sample) of raw milk samples, respectively. STEC strains were detected in water used in the milking parlor, while no EAEC strain was detected. As a conclusion, cattle feces are important contamination sources of pathogenic E. coli in non-technified dairy farms and, consequently, cross-contamination among feces, water, and/or raw milk can occur. The use of quality water and hygienic practices during milking are recommended to avoid contamination since pathogens can be transmitted to humans via raw milk or raw milk cheese ingestion.

Micro-organismos Isolados de Mastite Bovina e em Leite Cru no Brasil

“…Nesse sistema, o leite cru, armazenado em tanque de expansão a 4 ºC por até 48 horas e transportado para a indústria beneficiadora em tanques isotérmicos (BRASIL, 2015;BRASIL, 2018a;2018b). Esse processo visa reduzir o desenvolvimento da microbiota mesofílica, dentre as quais o gênero Staphylococcus spp., que se destaca como micro-organismo patogênico, potencialmente reconhecido como produtor de toxinas (RIBEIRO et al, 2019;PICOLI et al, 2014;MATTOS et al, 2010).…”

Queijo Minas Artesanal Produzido Na Região De Canastra: Características Dos Parâmetros De Produção, Qualidade Da Água E Dos Queijos

“…The presence of a high number of coliforms in the cheese-making water may cause some defects in the food product, such as early blowing defect, which results in the presence of small holes in the cheese. The high incidence of these microorganisms in water is mainly due to environmental contamination or inefficient chlorination (FAROOQ et al, 2008;TRMČIĆ et al, 2016) and it is important to guarantee the quality of water to avoid contamination of milk and cheese (RIBEIRO et al, 2019). However, according to Saraiva et al (2012), just over half of the producers demonstrated some control over water use, such as chlorination control or periodic physicochemical and microbiological analyses..…”

“…Pathogenic Escherichia coli can be detected in raw milk (RIBEIRO et al, 2019). E. coli presence in raw milk cheese may indicate a milk contamination of fecal origin or mammary infections (CONTANZO et al, 2020).…”

“…E. coli is normally found in the intestines of animals and humans. Ruminants are important reservoirs and defecation during milking is a significant event for milk contamination (TORRES, 2017;RIBEIRO et al, 2019;COSTANZO et al, 2020).…”

“…Therefore, good manufacturing practice, milking and hygiene practices must be provided to avoid raw milk contamination and to produce a safe food for consumption (RIBEIRO et al, 2019).…”