Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T15:44:47.616Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Phage-typing of Vero-cytotoxin (VT) producing Escherichia coli O157 isolated in the United Kingdom

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

J. A. Frost
Affiliation:
Division of Enteric Pathogens, Central Public Health Laboratory, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5HT
H. R. Smith
Affiliation:
Division of Enteric Pathogens, Central Public Health Laboratory, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5HT
G. A. Willshaw
Affiliation:
Division of Enteric Pathogens, Central Public Health Laboratory, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5HT
S. M. Scotland
Affiliation:
Division of Enteric Pathogens, Central Public Health Laboratory, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5HT
R. J. Gross
Affiliation:
Division of Enteric Pathogens, Central Public Health Laboratory, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5HT
B. Rowe
Affiliation:
Division of Enteric Pathogens, Central Public Health Laboratory, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5HT
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.

Vero-cytotoxin (VT) producing Escherichia coli serogroup O157 have been isolated from patients with diarrhoea, haemorrhagic colitis (HC) and haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS). A phage-typing scheme developed in Canada has been used to type 155 VT+ E. coli O157 serogroup isolated from sporadic infections in the UK since 1983, and 48 strains from HC or HUS outbreaks. Twelve phage types were identified of which three, types 49, 51 and 52, have not been found in North America. All strains carried a 60 × 10 plasmid and most VT1+VT2+ strains also had a 5 × 10 plasmid coding for colicin D production. The majority of strains producing both VT1 and VT2 belonged to phage type 1, or the related types 4, 8 and 14. Most strains producing only VT2 belonged to types 2 or 49. Four outbreaks were included in the survey. Three had strains of a single phage type while strains from the fourth outbreak were more variable. The distribution of phage types throughout the UK showed no marked geographical variations.

Type
Special Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

References

REFERENCES

1.Konowalchuk, J, Speirs, JI, Stavric, S.Vero response to a cytotoxin of Escherichia coli. Infect Immun 1977; 18: 775–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2.Riley, LW, Remis, RS, Helgerson, SD, et al. Hemorrhagic colitis associated with a rare Escherichia coli serotype. N Eng J Med 1983; 308: 681– 5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3.Smith, HR, Rowe, B, Gross, RJ, Fry, NK, Scotland, SM. Haemorrhagic colitis and Vero cytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli in England and Wales. Lancet 1987; 1: 1062–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4.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; 1: 619–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5.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
6.Scotland, SM, Smith, HR, Rowe, B.Two distinct toxins active on Vero cells from Escherichia coli O157. 1985; Lancet; 2: 885–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7.Taylor, CM, White, RHR, Winterborn, MH, Rowe, B.Haemolytic-uraemic syndrome: clinical experience of an outbreak in the West Midlands. Br Med J 1986; 292: 1513–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Morgan, GM, Newman, C, Palmer, SR, et al. First recorded community outbreak of haemorrhagic colitis due to Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157. H7 in the UK. Epidemiol Infect 1988; 101: 8391.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9. Communicable Disease Report 1987; 87/26.Google Scholar
10.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
11.Ratnam, S, March, SB, Ahmed, R, Bezanson, GS, Kasatiya, S.Characterization of Escherichia coli serotype O157: H7. J Clin Microbiol 1988; 26: 2006–12.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Scotland, SM, Willshaw, GA, Smith, HR, Rowe, B.Properties of strains of Escherichia coli belonging to serogroup O157 with special reference to production of Vero cytotoxins VT1 and VT2. Epidemiol Infect 1987; 99: 613–24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.Gross, RJ, Rowe, B. Serotyping of Escherichia coli. In: Sussman, M, ed. The virulence of Escherichia coli. Reviews and Methods. London: Academic Press, 1985; 345–63.Google Scholar
14.Scotland, SM, Day, NP, Rowe, B.Production of a cytotoxin affecting Vero cells by strains of Escherichia coli belonging to traditional enteropathogenic serogroups. FEMS Microbiol Lett 1980; 7: 1517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15.Pugsley, AP. Escherichia coli K12 strains for use in the identification and characterization of colicins. J Gen Microbiol 1985; 131: 369–76.Google ScholarPubMed
16.Willshaw, GA, Smith, HR, Scotland, SM, Rowe, B.Cloning of genes determining the production of Vero cytotoxin by Escherichia coli. J Gen Microbiol. 1985; 131: 3047–53.Google ScholarPubMed
17.Willshaw, GA, Smith, HR, Scotland, SM, Field, AM, Rowe, B.Heterogeneity of Escherichia coli phages encoding Vero cytotoxins: comparison of cloned sequences determining VT1 and VT2 and development of specific gene probes. J Gen Microbiol 1987; 133: 1309–17.Google ScholarPubMed
18.Levine, MM, Xu, J-G, Kaper, JB, et al. A DNA probe to identify enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli of O157: H7 and other serotypes that cause hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome. J Infect Dis 1987; 156: 175–82.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19.Maniatis, T, Fritsch, EF, Sambrook, J.Molecular cloning: a laboratory manual. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1982.Google Scholar
20.Birnboim, HC, Doly, J.A rapid alkaline extraction procedure for screening recombinant plasmid DNA. Nucl Acid Res 1979; 7: 15131523.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21.Willshaw, GA, Smith, HR, Anderson, ES. Application of agarose gel electrophoresis to the characterization of plasmid DNA in drug-resistant enterobacteria. J Gen Microbiol 1979; 114: 1525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22.Johnson, WM, Lior, H, Bezanson, GS. Cytotoxic Escherichia coli O157: H7 associated with haemorrhagic colitis in Canada. Lancet 1983; 1: 76.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23.Wells, JG, Davis, BR, Wachsmuth, IK, et al. Laboratory investigation of hemorrhagic colitis outbreaks associated with a rare Escherichia coli serotype. J Clin Microbiol 1983: 18: 512–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
24.Karch, H, Heesemann, J, Laufs, R, O'Brien, AD, Tacket, CO, Levine, MM. A plasmid of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157: H7 is required for expression of a new fimbrial antigen and for adhesion to epithelial cells. Infect Immun 1987; 55: 455–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed