title: Association of Escherichia coli O157:H7 with houseflies on a cattle farm.
abstract: The ecology of Escherichia coli O157:H7 is not well understood. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of and characterize E. coli O157:H7 associated with houseflies (HF). Musca domestica L. HF (n = 3,440) were collected from two sites on a cattle farm over a 4-month period and processed individually for E. coli O157:H7 isolation and quantification. The prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 was 2.9 and 1.4% in HF collected from feed bunks and a cattle feed storage shed, respectively. E. coli O157:H7 counts ranged from 3.0 x 10(1) to 1.5 x 10(5) CFU among the positive HF. PCR analysis of the E. coli O157:H7 isolates revealed that 90.4, 99.2, 99.2, and 100% of them (n = 125) possessed the stx1, stx2, eaeA, and fliC genes, respectively. Large populations of HF on cattle farms may play a role in the dissemination of E. coli O157:H7 among animals and to the surrounding environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA.
authors.forename: Muhammad J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Alam
authors.forename: Ludek
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zurek
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006793:Houseflies / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D012621:Seasons