Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 from extensive cattle of the fighting bulls breed.
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 represents a major public health concern worldwide, with cattle recognized as their main natural reservoir. The aim of this work was to determine the prevalence and the pheno-genotypic characteristics of STEC O157:H7 in a herd with 268 cattle of the fighting bulls breed (De Lidia breed) managed under extensive conditions in the South-West of Spain. Rectal-anal swabs of all animals were collected and examined for STEC O157:H7 by performing an immunomagnetic concentration and separation procedure combined with PCR, and the resulting isolates were characterized by both phenotypic and genotypic methods. Overall, STEC O157:H7 was isolated from seven animals (2.6%) in the herd. The PCR procedure indicated that all seven isolates displayed stx(2), eae-gamma1, ehxA, O157 rfbE, and fliCh7 genes. They belonged to phage types 4 (one isolate) and 42 (two isolates), and four isolates reacted with typing phages but did not conform to a recognized pattern. Among the seven isolates there were five indistinguishable PFGE patterns and other two which differed only in < or =2 restriction fragments, supporting the existence of horizontal transmission among animals in the herd. The present study demonstrates that cattle managed under extensive conditions in Spain can excrete STEC O157:H7 with their faeces. To our knowledge this is the first isolation of this pathogen from De Lidia cattle.
Sánchez
S
S
Patología Infecciosa y Epidemiología, Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Extremadura, 10071 Cáceres, Spain. sergiosp@unex.es
Martínez
R
R
García
A
A
Blanco
J
J
Echeita
A
A
Hermoso de Mendoza
J
J
Rey
J
J
Alonso
J M
JM
D001003:Anal Canal / Q000382:microbiology; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D012007:Rectum / Q000382:microbiology; D054323:Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification*