title: Comparison of the incidence of pathogenic and antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli strains in adult cattle and veal calf slaughterhouse effluents highlighted different risks for public health.
abstract: The goal of this study was to investigate the involvement of bovine slaughterhouse effluents and biosolids in the risk of environmental dissemination of pathogenic and antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli. Several samples were collected from one adult cattle and one veal calf slaughterhouse wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The treatment process had no impact on the percentage of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) and on the percentage of atypical enteropathogenic E. coli (aEPEC). A STEC O157:H7 was isolated from the thickened sludge of the adult cattle slaughterhouse. As thickened sludge is intended to be spread on agricultural lands, the detection of this pathogenic strain is a public health issue. The percentage of antibiotic-resistant E. coli was 5.0% and 87.5% in wastewater from the adult cattle and the veal calf slaughterhouse, respectively. These percentages were not significantly different after treatment. Integron-bearing E. coli isolates were only detected in the veal calf slaughterhouse WWTP with percentages above 50.0% for all sampling points whatever the step of the treatment process. Taken together, these findings highlighted the fact that different public health risks might be associated with adult cattle or veal calf slaughterhouses regarding the dissemination of pathogenic and antibiotic-resistant E. coli isolates into the environment.
authors.affiliation: INSERM UMR1043, INRA USC1360, INP-ENVT, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Maryse Michèle
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Um
authors.affiliation: Université de Limoges, UMR1092, Limoges, France; INSERM, UMR1092, Limoges, France; CHU Limoges, laboratoire de Bactériologie-Virologie-Hygiène, Limoges, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Barraud
authors.affiliation: INSERM UMR1043, INRA USC1360, INP-ENVT, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Monique
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kérourédan
authors.affiliation: Université de Limoges, UMR1092, Limoges, France; INSERM, UMR1092, Limoges, France; CHU Limoges, laboratoire de Bactériologie-Virologie-Hygiène, Limoges, France.
authors.forename: Margaux
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gaschet
authors.affiliation: Université de Limoges, EA4330 GRESE, Limoges, France.
authors.forename: Thibault
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stalder
authors.affiliation: INSERM UMR1043, INRA USC1360, CHU de Toulouse, Hôpital Purpan, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Oswald
authors.affiliation: Université de Limoges, EA4330 GRESE, Limoges, France.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dagot
authors.affiliation: Université de Limoges, UMR1092, Limoges, France; INSERM, UMR1092, Limoges, France; CHU Limoges, laboratoire de Bactériologie-Virologie-Hygiène, Limoges, France.
authors.forename: Marie-Cecile
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Ploy
authors.affiliation: INSERM UMR1043, INRA USC1360, INP-ENVT, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Hubert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brugère
authors.affiliation: INSERM UMR1043, INRA USC1360, INP-ENVT, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France. Electronic address: d.bibbal@envt.fr.
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bibbal
mesh_terms: D000003:Abattoirs; D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005602:France; D032023:Integrons; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology; D054323:Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D062065:Wastewater / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: Antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli; Cattle slaughterhouse; Integrons; STEC; Wastewater treatment process