The rabbit as a new reservoir host of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli.
We investigated the prevalence of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) in rabbits acquired from two commercial vendors and a local petting zoo. Fecal samples from 34 Dutch Belted (DB) and 15 New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits were cultured; and isolates were biotyped, serotyped, tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and genotyped by repetitive-element sequence-based PCR (Rep-PCR). Seven (25%) of 28 DB rabbits acquired from one commercial source were positive for EHEC, including O153:H- and O153:H7. One (9%) of 11 NZW rabbits from the same source was positive for eae-, stx1+ O153 strains. In contrast, six DB rabbits from another commercial source and four rabbits from a petting zoo were negative for EHEC. Rep-PCR demonstrated that the O153 EHEC and O145 enteropathogenic E. coli were two distinct clones. Our study indicates that rabbits are a new reservoir host of EHEC that may pose a zoonotic risk for humans.
García
Alexis
A
Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA. agarcia@mit.edu
Fox
James G
JG
D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000662:veterinary*; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005516:Food Microbiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D011817:Rabbits / Q000382:microbiology*; D022622:Shiga Toxin 1 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D022641:Shiga Toxin 2 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics
D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D022622:Shiga Toxin 1; D022641:Shiga Toxin 2; C073819:eaeA protein, E coli