Detection and characterization of fecal verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli from healthy cattle.
Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli isolates from feces of healthy cattle were identified by DNA hybridization with verotoxin 1- and verotoxin 2-specific gene probes. Among 259 animals investigated, 28 (10.8%) were found to carry verotoxin-producing E. coli strains. Characterization of the verotoxin-producing isolates revealed a heterogeneous population in terms of serotype and toxin type. Nearly 40% of the strains belonged to serogroups known to be pathogenic for humans, i.e., O22, O39, O82, O91, O113, O116, O126, and O136. Two isolates from different bulls were identified as serotype O157:H7. Results obtained in this study indicate that cattle may be an important source of verotoxigenic E. coli involved in human disease.
Institute for Veterinary Medicine (Robert von Ostertag Institute), Federal Health Office, Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany.
M A
MA
Montenegro
M
M
Bülte
T
T
Trumpf
S
S
Aleksić
G
G
Reuter
E
E
Bulling
R
R
Helmuth
D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics*; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D002417:Cattle / Q000382:microbiology*; D015342:DNA Probes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D022622:Shiga Toxin 1
D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D015342:DNA Probes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D022622:Shiga Toxin 1