Concentration and prevalence of Escherichia coli O157 in cattle feces at slaughter.
The concentration and prevalence of Escherichia coli O157 in cattle feces at the time of slaughter was studied over a 9-week period from May to July 2002. Fecal samples (n = 589) were collected from the rectums of slaughtered cattle, and the animal-level prevalence rate was estimated to be 7.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.4 to 9.6%) while the group prevalence was 40.4% (95% CI, 27.7 to 53.2%). Of the 44 infected animals detected, 9% were high shedders that contained E. coli O157 at concentrations of >10(4) CFU g(-1). These 9% represented >96% of the total E. coli O157 produced by all animals tested. All isolates possessed the vt(2) gene, 39 had the eaeA gene, and a further five had the vt(1) gene also. The presence of high-shedding animals at the abattoir increases the potential risk of meat contamination during the slaughtering process and stresses the need for correctly implemented hazard analysis and critical control point procedures.
School of Biological Sciences, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UU, Scotland, United Kingdom.
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Omisakin
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MacRae
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Ogden
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Strachan
D000003:Abattoirs; D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D002417:Cattle / Q000382:microbiology*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology; D022622:Shiga Toxin 1 / Q000235:genetics; D022641:Shiga Toxin 2 / Q000235:genetics; D006113:United Kingdom; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D022622:Shiga Toxin 1; D022641:Shiga Toxin 2; C073819:eaeA protein, E coli