Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T23:00:17.542Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cattle as a possible source of verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 infections in man

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

P. A. Chapman ,
C. A. Siddons ,
D. J. Wright ,
P. Norman ,
J. Fox  and
E. Crick
P. A. Chapman
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory, Herries Road, Sheffield S5 7BQ
C. A. Siddons
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory, Herries Road, Sheffield S5 7BQ
D. J. Wright
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory, Herries Road, Sheffield S5 7BQ
P. Norman
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory, Herries Road, Sheffield S5 7BQ
J. Fox
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory, Herries Road, Sheffield S5 7BQ
E. Crick
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory, Herries Road, Sheffield S5 7BQ
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

In May-June 1992 cases of infection with verocytotoxin-producing (VT+) Escherichia coli O157 in South Yorkshire could have been associated with prior consumption of beef from a local abattoir. During investigation of the abattoir, bovine rectal swabs and samples of meat and surface swabs from beef carcasses were examined for E. coli O157, isolates of which were tested for toxigenicity, plasmid content and phage type. E. coli O157 was isolated from 84 (4%) of 2103 bovine rectal swabs; of these 84, 78 (93%) were VT+, the most common phage types being 2 and 8, the types implicated in the cluster of human cases. Positive cattle were from diverse sources within England. E. coli O157 was isolated from 7 (30%) of 23 carcasses of rectal swab-positive cattle and from 2 (8%) of 25 carcasses of rectal swab-negative cattle. The study has shown that cattle may be a reservoir of VT+ E. coli O157, and that contamination of carcasses during slaughter and processing may be how beef and beef products become contaminated and thereby transmit the organism to man.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 111 , Issue 3 , December 1993 , pp. 439 - 448
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

References

1.Karmali, MA. Infection by verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli. Clin Microbiol Rev 1989; 2: 15–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2.Riley, LW, Remis, RS, Helgerson, SD et al. Hemorrhagic colitis associated with a rare Escherichia coli serotype. N Engl J Med 1983; 308: 681–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3.Pai, CH, Gordon, R, Sims, HV, Bryan, LE. Sporadic cases of hemorrhagic colitis associated with Escherichia coli O157: H7. Ann Intern Med 1984; 101: 738–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4.Smith, HR, Rowe, B, Gross, RJ, Fry, NK, Scotland, SM. Haemorrhagic colitis and verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli in England and Wales. Lancet 1987: i: 1062–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Chapman, PA, Wright, DJ, Norman, P. Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli infections in Sheffield: cattle as a possible source. Epidemiol Infect 1989; 102: 439–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Karmali, MA, Steele, BT, Petric, M, Lim, C. Sporadic cases of haemolytic-uraemic syndrome associated with faecal cytotoxin and cytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli in stools. Lancet 1983; i: 619–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Karmali, MA, Petric, M, Lim, C, Fleming, PC, Arbus, GS, Lior, H. The association between idiopathic hemolytic-uremic syndrome and infection by verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli. J Infect Dis 1985; 151: 775–82.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Scotland, SM, Rowe, B, Smith, HR, Willshaw, GA, Gross, RJ. Vero cytotoxin-producing strains of Escherichia coli from children with haemolytic-uraemic syndrome and their detection by specific DNA probes. J Med Microbiol 1988; 25: 237–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9. Report. Third Annual Report (1988–1989) of the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit. 5 St Andrews Place, London. BPSU 1989.Google Scholar
10.Martin, ML, Shipman, LD, Wells, JG, et al. Isolation of Escherichia coli O157: H7 from dairy cattle associated with two cases of haemolytic-uraemic syndrome. Lancet 1986: ii: 1043.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11.Chapman, PA, Jewes, L, Siddons, CA, Norman, P, George, SL. Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli infections in Sheffield during 1989. PHLS Microbiol Digest 1990; 7: 163–6.Google Scholar
12.Chapman, PA, Siddons, CA, Zadik, PM, Jewes, L. An improved selective medium for the isolation of Escherichia coli O157. J Med Microbiol 1991; 35: 107–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.Chapman, PA. Evaluation of a commercial latex slide test for the identification of Escherichia coli O157. J Clin Pathol 1989; 42: 1109–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14.Jackson, MP, Neill, RJ, O'Brien, AD, Holmes, RK, Newland, JW. Nucleotide sequence analysis and comparison of the structural genes for Shiga-like toxin 1 and Shiga-like toxin II encoded by bacteriophages from Escherichia coli 933. FEMS Microbiol Lett 1987: 44: 109–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15.Chapman, PA, Daly, CM. An evaluation of a non-radioactive trivalent DA probe (LTh, ST1a, ST1b) for detecting enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli. J Clin Pathol 1993; 46: 309–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16.Borczyk, AA, Karmali, MA, Lior, H, Duncan, LM. Bovine reservoir for verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157: H7. Lancet 1987; i: 98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17.Ostroff, SM, Griffin, PM, Tauxe, RV, et al. A statewide outbreak of Escherichia coli O157 infections in Washington state. Am J Epidemiol 1990; 132: 239–47.Google ScholarPubMed
18.Wells, JG, Shipman, LD, Greene, KD, et al. Isolation of Escherichia coli serotype O157: H7 and other shiga-like toxin-producing E. coli from dairy cattle. J Clin Microbiol 1991; 29: 985–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19.Ryan, CA, Tauxe, RV, Hosek, GW, et al. Escherichia coli O157:H7 diarrhea in a nursing home: clinical, epidemiological, and pathological findings. J Infect Dis 1986; 154: 631–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20.MacDonald, KL, O'Leary, MJ, Cohen, ML, et al. Escherichia coli O157:H7, an emerging gastrointestinal pathogen – results of a one-year, prospective, population-based study. JAMA 1988; 259: 3567–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21.Bryant, HE, Athar, MA, Pai, CH. Risk factors for Escherichia coli O157: H7 infection in an urban community. J Infect Dis 1989; 160: 858–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22.Morgan, CM, Newman, C, Palmer, SR, et al. First recognised community outbreak of haemorrhagic colitis due to verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 in the UK. Epidemiol Infect 1988; 101: 83–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23.Salmon, RL, Farrell, ID, Hutchison, JGP, et al. A christening party outbreak of haemorrhagic colitis and haemolytic-uraemic syndrome associated with Escherichia coli O157: H7. Epidemiol Infect 1989; 103: 249–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24.Ingram, PM, Roberts, TA. The microbiology of the red meat carcass and the slaughterhouse. Roy Soc Health J 1976; 96: 270–6.Google ScholarPubMed
25.Anderson, ME, Marshall, RT, Dickson, JS. Estimating depths of bacterial penetration into post-rigor carcass tissue during washing. J Food Safety 1992; 12: 191–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26.Davidson, CM, Taylor, M, Zellerman, GG. Method for sampling beef carcasses. Appl Environm Microbiol 1978; 35: 811–2.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27.Doyle, MP, Schoeni, JL. Isolation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 from retail fresh meats and poultry. Appl Environ Microbiol 1987; 53: 2394–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
28.Ahmed, R, Bopp, C, Borczyk, A, Kasatiya, S. Phage typing scheme for Escherichia coli O157:H7. J Infect Dis 1987; 155: 806–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
29.Ostroff, SM, Tarr, PI, Neill, MA, Lewis, JH, Hargrett-Bean, N, Kobayashi, JM. Toxin genotypes and plasmid profiles as determinants of systemic sequelae in Escherichia coli O157: H7 infections. J Infect Dis 1989; 160: 994–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed