Human Escherichia coli O157[ratio ]H7 infection associated with the consumption of unpasteurized goat's milk

Abstract

A cluster of four cases of haemolytic uraemic syndrome in children occurred in Northern Bohemia, Czech Republic, between 15 June and 7 July, 1995. All the cases had significantly elevated titres of anti-O157 lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antibodies as detected by the indirect haemagglutination assay. All but one of them had drunk unpasteurized goat's milk from the same farm within the week before the disease. Evidence of E. coli O157 infection was subsequently found in 5 of 15 regular drinkers of the farm's raw goat's milk; four of them were asymptomatic, 1 had mild diarrhoea at the end of June. Verocytotoxin 2-producing E. coli O157:H7 strains of phage type 2 and of identical pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns were isolated from 1 of 2 farm goats and from 1 of the asymptomatic goat's milk drinkers. The frequency of anti-O157 LPS antibodies found among regular drinkers of the farm's raw goat's milk (33%; 5 of 15) was significantly higher than that found in control population (0%; none of 45) (P = 0.0005; Fisher's exact test). Our findings indicate that goats may be a reservoir of E. coli O157:H7 and a source of the infection for humans; raw goat's milk may serve as a vehicle of the pathogen transmission.

Isolation and characterization Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli from sheep and goats inJordanwith evidence of multiresistant serotype O157:H7

“…The direct relationship between the STEC shed by small ruminants or the presence of the bacteria in their products on the one hand and human infections on the other has been, however, demonstrated only sporadically (Bielaszewska et al, 1997;Chapman et al, 2000). A relatively frequent occurrence of the bacteria carriers among sheep (Kudva et al, 1996) and the STEC found in sheep and goat products (Rubini et al, 1999;Chapman et al, 2001;Chiueh et al, 2002) suggest that this may be a relatively important source of infection for people.…”

“…525/00/666). (Rubini et al, 1999) and four cases of HUS recorded in the Czech Republic where the infection vehicle was identified as non-pasteurised goat milk (Bielaszewska et al, 1997). Just as with other agents of human alimentary infections caused by Salmonella typhimurium DT 104 (Threlfall, 2002) and Campylobacter jejuni (Swartz, 2002), the STEC strains resistant to antibiotics of the first choice may complicate antimicrobial therapy whose timely application may prevent the development of life-threatening HUS in human STEC infections (Shiomi et al, 1999).…”

Is Undiluted Goat᾽s Milk Part of your Differential Diagnosis for Neonatal Metabolic Acidosis?

“…Finally, in addition to severe electrolyte abnormalities and metabolic acidosis, unmodified goat's milk has also been associated with megaloblastic anemia, allergic reactions including life-threatening anaphylactic shock, hemolytic uremic syndrome, and infection [10][11][12][13].…”

Faecal shedding of verotoxigenic Escherichia coli in cattle in the Czech Republic

“…The situation in the Czech Republic is not very well known, however. VTEC O157:H7 detection in non-pasteurized goat milk as a source of infection for people was reported by Bielaszewska et al (1997). Examination of calves on a farm in the South Moravia region revealed the presence of VTEC O157 in 20% of collected samples and, moreover, they were isolated from untreated slurry and trapped rats (Cizek et al, 1999).…”