title: [Occurrence of Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli strains in pigs and cattle at slaughterhouses in the Czech Republic in 2013].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was performed in cooperation with the State Veterinary Administration (SVA) in order to monitor the occurrence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli isolates in swabs from the carcasses of pigs and cattle at slaughterhouses.
  
  
  METHODS
  From June to August 2013, SVA staff took 168 swabs from cattle and 318 from pigs at 157 different slaughters in the Czech Republic. Basic processing of the samples was carried out in the State Veterinary Institutes (SVIs) in Prague, Jihlava and Olomouc according to the methodical process coordinated by the National reference laboratory (NRL) for Escherichia coli (Czech Ministry of Agriculture). The procedure was based on the guideline ISO TS 13136.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of the 486 swabs, twenty-two positive samples were detected. There were a total of 22 isolates of Shiga toxigenic E. coli (STEC) and 1 strain with the characteristic of enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC). Genes typical for enteroaggregative E. coli (EAggEC) were not found in any of the isolates. Most STEC strains originated from pigs. The stx1 gene was detected twice (stx1a, stx1d) and the stx2 gene 13 times (12 times stx2e, once stx2a). Seven STEC isolates were detected from samples of cattle origin. One strain was stx1 (stx1a) -positive, the stx2 gene was found 6 times (4 stx2e, 1 stx2a and 1 stx2c). One isolate carried simultaneously both stx1a and stx2a. Each of the serogroups O91, O113 and O146 described as etiological agents of severe disease in humans were detected only once. None of these strains harbored additional virulence factors typical for strains causing serious illness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RESULTS of this study show the overall prevalence of Shiga toxigenic E. coli of 4.5 % and 0.2 % of enterohemorrhagic strains in the studied samples. Raw meat originating from local farms does not currently represent an important source of STEC for humans.
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Research Institute, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Czech Republic, e-mail: kolackova@vri.cz.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Koláčková
authors.forename: Klára
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Házová
authors.forename: Alena
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Skočková
authors.forename: Renáta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Karpíšková
mesh_terms: D000003:Abattoirs; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000382:microbiology*; D018153:Czech Republic; D006801:Humans; D054323:Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013552:Swine / Q000382:microbiology*; D037521:Virulence Factors
chemical_list: D037521:Virulence Factors