Prevalence, antibiotic susceptibility, and diversity of Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolates from a longitudinal study of beef cattle feedlots.
Prevalence, antibiotic susceptibility, and genetic diversity were determined for Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolated over 11 months from four beef cattle feedlots in southwest Kansas. From the fecal pat (17,050) and environmental (7,134) samples collected, 57 isolates of E. coli O157:H7 were identified by use of bacterial culture and latex agglutination (C/LA). PCR showed that 26 isolates were eaeA gene positive. Escherichia coli O157:H7 was identified in at least one of the four feedlots in 14 of the 16 collections by C/LA and in 9 of 16 collections by PCR, but consecutive positive collections at a single feedlot were rare. Overall prevalence in fecal pat samples was low (0.26% by C/LA, and 0.08% by PCR). No detectable differences in prevalence or antibiotic resistance were found between isolates collected from home pens and those from hospital pens, where antibiotic use is high. Resistant isolates were found for six of the eight antibiotics that could be used to treat E. coli infections in food animals, but few isolates were multidrug resistant. The high diversity of isolates as measured by random amplification of polymorphic DNA and other characteristics indicates that the majority of isolates were unique and did not persist at a feedlot, but probably originated from incoming cattle. The most surprising finding was the low frequency of virulence markers among E. coli isolates identified initially by C/LA as E. coli O157:H7. These results demonstrate that better ways of screening and confirming E. coli O157:H7 isolates are required for accurate determination of prevalence.
Food Animal Health and Management Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, 1800 Denison Ave., Manhattan, KS 66506, USA. galland@vet.ksu.edu
J C
JC
Galland
D R
DR
Hyatt
S S
SS
Crupper
D W
DW
Acheson
D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics*; D008460:Meat; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D015995:Prevalence; D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents