High numbers of Shiga toxin-producing found in bovine faeces collected at slaughter in Japan

Abstract

The prevalence and concentration of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in cattle faeces (n=605) at the time of slaughter was studied in Shimane Prefecture, Japan on a monthly basis between April 2000 and March 2001. Screening with stx-PCR determined a prevalence of 37.5%. After analysis of spread faeces and enriched samples on cefixime, tellurite and sorbitol-MacConkey agar using HCl treatment, 114 STEC strains were singly or concomitantly isolated from 97 cattle (15.9%). Of the 605 cattle, 31 (5.1%) harbored O26:H11, O111:H-, O121:H19 or O157:H7, which had the stx1 and/or stx2 and eae and hlyA genes, and 7 (23%) of these 31 cattle were high level carriers that contained these typical STEC at concentrations of 10(5)-10(8) CFU/g of faeces. The predominant serotype was O26:H11 (20 strains) and the second most frequent was O157:H7 (9 strains). Of the 605 cattle, 68 (11.2%) harboured 36 other serotypes and 6 (5.9%) of the 67 cattle were high level carriers. As a comparison between the prevalence of STEC and the faecal pH, it was demonstrated that STEC can be isolated from cattle with a wide range of faecal pH values. The presence of a high-carriage animal at the abattoir increases the potential risk of meat contamination during the slaughtering process, regardless of faecal pH.

Molecular Characterization of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and non-O157 Shiga Toxin Producing E. coli from Retail Meat and Humans

“…Globally, the prevalence of non-O157 STEC in beef is more than the prevalence of O157, the range of isolation rates of non-O157 from beef samples at outlets was 3-62.5% [7]. In the present study, 2.3% of minced beef samples were contaminated with different serotypes of STEC other than E. coli O157:H7.…”

“…E. coli O157:H7 has been widely known to be directly linked with foodborne infections, however, outbreaks due to non-O157 E. coli have increased recently [4]. Other serogroups including E. coli O26, O91, O103, O111, O118, O113and O145 have been reported as STEC [5][6][7]. Many STEC harbor shiga toxin 1 and shiga toxin 2 genes (stx1and stx2), such genes are responsible for the damage of endothelial and tubular cells resulting in acute renal failure [8].…”

Intestinal Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Bacteria Mitigate Bovine Leukemia Virus Infection in Experimentally Infected Sheep

“…Although little information is available regarding the correlation between the total numbers of STEC bacteria in feces and of bacteria expressing Stx in the intestine, these results are consistent with such an assumption. Our finding that the total numbers of naturally occurring STEC bacteria in sheep may reach concentrations of 10 6 CFU/g, whereas concentrations of 10 5 to 10 8 CFU/g are not uncommon in cattle (19), indicates that ruminant animals are likely to carry intestinal STEC at sufficient numbers for an antiviral effect to occur.…”

Serotype, Shiga Toxin (Stx) Type, and Antimicrobial Resistance of Stx-Producing Escherichia coli Isolated from Humans in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan (2003^|^ndash;2007)

“…Among the infections with different strains of diarrheagenic E. coli, infection with the STEC strain has shown the highest mortality in Japan, which may be because of the severity of the clinical presentation in STEC infections (5). A high prevalence of pathogenic STEC in beef and beef cattle has been reported in Japan and other parts of the world (6,7). Therefore, there is a great risk of transfer of these STEC infections to humans.…”