title: High numbers of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli found in bovine faeces collected at slaughter in Japan.
abstract: The prevalence and concentration of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in cattle faeces (n=605) at the time of slaughter was studied in Shimane Prefecture, Japan on a monthly basis between April 2000 and March 2001. Screening with stx-PCR determined a prevalence of 37.5%. After analysis of spread faeces and enriched samples on cefixime, tellurite and sorbitol-MacConkey agar using HCl treatment, 114 STEC strains were singly or concomitantly isolated from 97 cattle (15.9%). Of the 605 cattle, 31 (5.1%) harbored O26:H11, O111:H-, O121:H19 or O157:H7, which had the stx1 and/or stx2 and eae and hlyA genes, and 7 (23%) of these 31 cattle were high level carriers that contained these typical STEC at concentrations of 10(5)-10(8) CFU/g of faeces. The predominant serotype was O26:H11 (20 strains) and the second most frequent was O157:H7 (9 strains). Of the 605 cattle, 68 (11.2%) harboured 36 other serotypes and 6 (5.9%) of the 67 cattle were high level carriers. As a comparison between the prevalence of STEC and the faecal pH, it was demonstrated that STEC can be isolated from cattle with a wide range of faecal pH values. The presence of a high-carriage animal at the abattoir increases the potential risk of meat contamination during the slaughtering process, regardless of faecal pH.
authors.affiliation: Shimane Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environmental Science, 582 Nishihamasada, Matsue, Shimane 690-0122, Japan. fukushima-hiroshi@pref.shimane.jp
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fukushima
authors.forename: Ryotaro
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Seki
mesh_terms: D000003:Abattoirs; D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D003106:Colon / Q000382:microbiology; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology*; D005506:Food Contamination; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007564:Japan; D019081:O Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012703:Serotyping; D022622:Shiga Toxin 1 / Q000235:genetics; D022641:Shiga Toxin 2 / Q000235:genetics; D022603:Shiga Toxins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003470:Culture Media; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C022863:H antigen; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; C036507:Hlya protein, E coli; D019081:O Antigens; D022622:Shiga Toxin 1; D022641:Shiga Toxin 2; D022603:Shiga Toxins; C073819:eaeA protein, E coli