title: Occurrence and virulence patterns of E. coli O26, O103, O111 and O145 in slaughter cattle.
abstract: The study attempted to investigate the occurrence of non-O157 E. coli serogroups O26, O103, O111 and O145 in cattle at slaughter and to determine the virulence potential of these isolates. A total of 399 fecal samples were analyzed by selective plating and E. coli isolates were characterized by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the genes vtx1, vtx2, eae and EHEC hlyA. Immunomagnetic separation (IMS) is required to increase the efficiency of the isolation procedure. E. coli O26, O103, O111 and O145 were recovered from 24 (6%) fecal samples. E. coli O26 and O103 seemed to be more abundant in slaughter cattle than E. coli O111 and O145. Sixteen out of the 24 isolates harbored vtx genes. All vtx-positive isolates harbored one or more additional virulence factors. Six out of the 8 vtx-negative isolates harbored eae and/or EHEC hlyA, whereas 2 strains harbored none of the tested virulence genes.
authors.affiliation: Ghent University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium. adelheid.joris@ugent.be
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Joris
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pierard
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Zutter
mesh_terms: D000003:Abattoirs; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000382:microbiology*; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012703:Serotyping; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors