title: Lambs are an important source of atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli in southern Brazil.
abstract: Food-producing animals can harbor Escherichia coli strains with potential to cause diseases in humans. In this study, the presence of enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) was investigated in fecal samples from 130 healthy sheep (92 lambs and 38 adults) raised for meat in southern Brazil. EPEC was detected in 19.2% of the sheep examined, but only lambs were found to be positive. A total of 25 isolates was characterized and designated atypical EPEC (aEPEC) as tested negative for bfpA gene and BFP production. The presence of virulence markers linked to human disease as ehxA, paa, and lpfAO113was observed in 60%, 24%, and 88% of the isolates, respectively. Of the 11 serotypes identified, eight were described among human pathogenic strains, while three (O1:H8, O11:H21 and O125:H19) were not previously detected in aEPEC. Associations between intimin subtypes and phylogroups were observed, including eae-θ2/A, eae-β1/B1, eae-α2/B2 and eae-γ1/D. Although PFGE typing of 16 aEPEC isolates resulted in 14 unique pulsetypes suggesting a genetic diversity, specific clones were found to be distributed in some flocks. In conclusion, potentially pathogenic aEPEC strains are present in sheep raised for meat, particularly in lambs, which can better contribute to dissemination of these bacteria than adult animals.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernando H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Beatriz E C
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Guth
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Bacteriologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Roxane M F
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Piazza
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Bacteriologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Waldir P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Elias
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sylvia C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Leão
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Referencia de E. coli, Departamento de Microbioloxía e Parasitoloxía, Facultade de Veterinaria, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marzoa
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Referencia de E. coli, Departamento de Microbioloxía e Parasitoloxía, Facultade de Veterinaria, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain.
authors.forename: Ghizlane
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dahbi
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Referencia de E. coli, Departamento de Microbioloxía e Parasitoloxía, Facultade de Veterinaria, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain.
authors.forename: Azucena
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mora
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Referencia de E. coli, Departamento de Microbioloxía e Parasitoloxía, Facultade de Veterinaria, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blanco
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Referencia de E. coli, Departamento de Microbioloxía e Parasitoloxía, Facultade de Veterinaria, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blanco
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, PR, Brazil. Electronic address: jspelayo@uel.br.
authors.forename: Jacinta S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Pelayo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000382:microbiology*; D054308:Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005506:Food Contamination; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology*; D012756:Sheep; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
keywords: Food production; Lambs; Virulence factors; aEPEC