Prevalence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella in Camels, Cattle, Goats, and Sheep Harvested for Meat in Riyadh

Abstract

Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella are significant foodborne pathogens that can be found in the feces and on the hides of meat animals. When hides are removed during the harvest process, the carcass and subsequent meat products can become contaminated. Camels, cattle, sheep, and goats are harvested for meat in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella are unknown in these animals, and it is assumed that if the animals carry the pathogens in their feces or on their hides, meat products are likely to become contaminated. To this end, a minimum of 206 samples each from hides and feces of camels, cattle, goats, and sheep were collected over the course of 8 months and tested for E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella. It was found that E. coli O157:H7 was present in feces (10.7, 1.4, 2.4, and 2.4%) and on hides (17.9, 8.2, 2.9, and 9.2%) of cattle, goats, camels, and sheep, respectively. The prevalence of Salmonella was 11.2, 13.5, 23.2, and 18.8% in feces and 80.2, 51.2 67.6, and 60.2% on hides of cattle, goats, camels, and sheep, respectively. The prevalence of E coli O157:H7 was nearly zero in all samples collected in June and July, while Salmonella did not exhibit any seasonal variation. These results constitute the first comprehensive study of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella prevalence in Saudi Arabian meat animals at harvest.

Prevalence and pathogen load of Campylobacter spp., Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coliO157/O145 serogroup in sheep faeces collected at sale yards and in abattoir effluent in Western Australia

“…The overall prevalence of E. coli O157/O145 in sheep at sale yards in this study (8.4%, point prevalence 0–26%) was comparable with a previous study in which E. coli O157 was isolated from the faeces of 5% of sheep, 3% of fleeces and 0.6% of pre‐chill carcases at two Australian abattoirs, but higher than that observed in a study that detected E. coli O157 in 2.5% in sheep faeces and 2.9% on hides at a Saudi Arabian abattoir . Other studies have reported prevalences of 0% in sheep from North Wales, 3.9% in sheep from Iran and 18% in sheep from Turkey …”

“…The overall prevalence of S. enterica (3.6%, point prevalence 0–6.4%) was comparable with a longitudinal study that found the S. enterica point prevalence ranged from 0% to 24% in lambs on farms across Australia, but lower than that observed in studies that identified Salmonella in 20% of faecal samples, 13% of fleeces and 1.3% of pre‐chilled carcases at two Australian abattoirs, and 23.2% of faecal samples and 67.6% of hides at an abattoir in Saudi Arabia …”

Prevalence, molecular characterization and antimicrobial profiles of Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli O157 isolated from ruminants slaughtered in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

“…Our results showed that the highest prevalence occurred in spring and early summer months (February to April) which was likely due to the intense heat during summer months in UAE when daytime temperatures may reach as high as 50 °C which causes E. coli 0157:H7 prevalence to decline due to its inability to persist in the extreme environment. These results are in agreement with previous studies carried out in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the highest prevalence was reported in spring and early autumn months [27]. In fact we were unable to detect E. coli O157:H7 in any other months as was also reported in other parts of the world.…”

“…Hence, our observed E.coli O157:H7 prevalence in the UAE slaughterhouse is in agreement with previous studies carried out in various countries like Ethiopia, South Africa, United Kingdom and Ireland where the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 at abattoir level was reported as 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 3.2 and 3.0% [22,23,24,25,26]. Further, the highest prevalence of E. coli O157 (4.3%) was identified in camel feces compared to the other animals, which was similar to reports carried out in neighboring countries including Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the prevalence in camel feces was 2.4% [27]. Alternatively, our reported prevalence was found to be slightly lower compared to those reported in Ethiopia (8%) and Iran (6.4-9.6%) [28,29].…”

Prevalence ofSalmonella entericaand Shiga toxin-producingEscherichia coliin zoo animals from Chile

“…Artiodactyla usually carry bacteria in their gastrointestinal tract with no symptoms [1], which is supported by the results of this study. Moreover, they have been subjected to greater exposure to enterobacteria than other confined animals investigated to date.…”