Molecular Detection, Serotyping, and Antibiotic Resistance of Shiga Toxigenic Escherichia coli Isolated from She-Camels and In-Contact Humans in Egypt

Abstract

This study aims to determine the prevalence of STEC in she-camels suffering from mastitis in semi-arid regions by using traditional culture methods and then confirming it with Serological and molecular techniques in milk samples, camel feces, as well as human stool samples for human contacts. In addition, an antibiotic susceptibility profile for these isolates was investigation. Mastitic milk samples were taken after California Mastitis Test (CMT) procedure, and fecal samples were taken from she-camels and human stool samples, then cultured using traditional methods to isolate Escherichiacoli. These isolates were initially classified serologically, then an mPCR (Multiplex PCR) was used to determine virulence genes. Finally, both camel and human isolates were tested for antibiotic susceptibility. Out of a total of 180 she-camels, 34 (18.9%) were mastitic (8.3% clinical and 10.6% sub-clinical mastitis), where it was higher in camels bred with other animals. The total presence of E. coli was 21.9, 13.9, and 33.7% in milk, camel feces, and human stool, respectively, whereas the occurrence of STEC from the total E. coli isolates were 36, 16, and 31.4% for milk, camel feces, and stool, respectively. Among the camel isolates, stx1 was the most frequently detected virulence gene, while hlyA was not detected. The most detected virulence gene in human isolates was stx2 (45.5%), followed by stx1. Camel STEC showed resistance to Oxytetracycline only, while human STEC showed multiple drug resistance to Amoxicillin, Gentamycin, and Clindamycin with 81.8, 72.7, and 63.6%, respectively. Breeding camels in semi-arid areas separately from other animals may reduce the risk of infection with some bacteria, including E. coli; in contrast, mixed breeding with other animals contributes a significant risk factor for STEC emergence in camels.

Human Colonization with Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria from Nonoccupational Exposure to Domesticated Animals in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Critical Review

“…Namely, resistance phenotypes (as well as STs or PFGE patterns) generally differed between E. coli isolated from humans and livestock in rural Kenya, rural Egypt, and rural Vietnam. − Although 10 cases of recent livestock-human E. coli sharing (≤10 core genome multilocus sequence typing (MLST) distance) were identified in urban Kenya, resistome sharing (identical ARG profiles) was low among all human and animal isolates in the study .…”

Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, and the Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus in Dairy Cattle and Camels under Pastoral Production System

“…Milk and milk products play a significant role in human health and well-being [1,2]. However, milk-borne pathogens cause human diseases ranging from gastrointestinal distur-Antibiotics 2024, 13, 26 2 of 27 bances such as diarrhea and vomiting to systemic and even life-threatening illnesses [3][4][5][6]. The presence of milk-borne pathogens in milk has both public health and economic importance [7,8].…”