Occurrence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in diverse farm environments.
In the United States, foodborne outbreaks of Escherichia coli O157:H7 illness have often been linked to the consumption of contaminated, undercooked ground beef. However, the occurrence of E. coli O157:H7 has also been reported in other farm animals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of E. coli O157:H7 on diverse farm types and from a variety of farm samples. Rectal swabs (n=1686) and environmental samples (n=576) were collected from 16 farms in five states over 24 months and analyzed for the presence of E. coli O157:H7. Overall, E. coli O157:H7 was found in 3.6% of beef cattle, 3.4% of dairy cattle, 0.9% of chicken, 7.5% of turkey, and 8.9% of swine samples. The pathogen was isolated sporadically from each of the environmental sample types. Of particular concern was the isolation of E. coli O157:H7 from fresh feed samples, indicating a potential vector for transmission. The data from this study indicate a high occurrence of E. coli O157:H7 on swine and turkey farms. This unexpected result suggests that more research on the occurrence of E. coli O157:H7 on these types of farms is required in order to better understand potential reservoirs of pathogenic E. coli.
Doane
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CA
Food Safety Center of Excellence, University of Tennessee, 2605 River Drive, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA.
Pangloli
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P
Richards
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HA
Mount
J R
JR
Golden
D A
DA
Draughon
F A
FA
D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008461:Meat Products / Q000382:microbiology*; D011200:Poultry; D013552:Swine; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology