title: Prevalence of faecal excretion of verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli O157 in cattle in England and Wales.
abstract: During the decade to 1999, the incidence of human infections with the zoonotic pathogen verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 (VTEC O157) increased in England and Wales. This paper describes the results of a survey of 75 farms to determine the prevalence of faecal excretion of VTEC O157 by cattle, its primary reservoir host, in England and Wales. Faecal samples were collected from 4663 cattle between June and December 1999. The prevalence of excretion by individual cattle was 4.2 per cent (95 per cent confidence interval [CI] 2.0 to 6.4) and 10.3 per cent (95 per cent CI 5.8 to 14.8) among animals in infected herds. The within-herd prevalence on positive farms ranged from 1.1 to 51.4 per cent. At least one positive animal was identified on 29 (38.7 per cent; 95 per cent CI 28.1 to 50.4) of the farms, including dairy, suckler and fattening herds. The prevalence of excretion was least in the calves under two months of age, peaked in the calves aged between two and six months and declined thereafter. The phage types identified most widely were 4, 34 and 2, which were each found on six of the 29 positive farms.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Epidemiology and Risk Analysis, Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Weybridge, New Haw, Surrey KT15 3NB.
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Paiba
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Wilesmith
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: S J S
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Pascoe
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Kidd
authors.forename: J B M
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: McLaren
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Chappell
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Willshaw
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cheasty
authors.forename: N P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: French
authors.forename: T W H
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: H F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Buchanan
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Challoner
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Colloff
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Cranwell
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Daniel
authors.forename: I H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Duff
authors.forename: R A T
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Hogg
authors.forename: F D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Kirby
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Millar
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Monies
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Nicholls
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Payne
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001434:Bacteriophage Typing / Q000662:veterinary; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D015995:Prevalence; D011897:Random Allocation; D012621:Seasons; D022603:Shiga Toxins / Q000032:analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D022603:Shiga Toxins