Escherichia albertii, a close relative of E. coli, is an emerging zoonotic foodborne pathogen associated with watery diarrhea mainly in children and immunocompromised individuals. E. albertii was initially classified as eae-positive Hafnia alvei, however, as more genetic and biochemical information became available it was reassigned to its current novel taxonomy. Its infections are common under conditions of poor hygiene with confirmed transmission via contaminated water and food, mainly poultry-based products. This pathogen has been isolated from various domestic and wild animals, with most isolates being derived from birds, implying that birds among other wild animals might act as its reservoir. Due to the absence of standardized isolation and identification protocols, E. albertii can be misidentified as other Enterobacteriaceae. Exploiting phenotypes such as its inability to ferment rhamnose and xylose and PCR assays targeting E. albertii-specific genes such as the cytolethal distending toxin and the DNA-binding transcriptional activator of cysteine biosynthesis encoding genes can be used to accurately identify this pathogen. Several gaps exist in our knowledge of E. albertii and need to be bridged. A deeper understanding of E. albertii epidemiology and physiology is required to allow the development of effective measures to control its transmission and infections. Overall, current data suggest that E. albertii might play a more significant role in global infectious diarrhea cases than previously assumed and is often overlooked or misidentified. Therefore, simple, and efficient diagnostic tools that cover E. albertii biodiversity are required for effective isolation and identification of this elusive agent of diarrhea.

Escherichia albertii, a zoonotic pathogen, has sporadically been associated with infectious diarrhea in humans. Poultry and wild birds are considered potential reservoirs. We assessed the occurrence of E. albertii in 280 fecal samples from wild birds (n = 130) and pooled fecal samples collected at slaughterhouse level from poultry flocks (n = 150) in Switzerland. Using an E. albertii-specific PCR targeting the Eacdt gene, 23.8% (31/130) of the samples from wild birds, but not from the pooled poultry fecal samples, tested positive for Eacdt. The positive samples originated from 11 bird species belonging to eight families. Strain isolation was attempted on the PCR-positive samples by subculturing the broth cultures onto xylose–MacConkey plates. Isolation was possible on 12 of the 31 Eacdt-PCR-positive samples. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that the strains belonged to nine distinct sequence types, with ST13420 and ST5967 being represented by two and three isolates, respectively. All strains harbored the eae gene, while two strains were also positive for stx2f. Our study thus shows that E. albertii is present in the Swiss wild bird population, which can potentially act as a source of this pathogen to humans, other animals, and the environment.

Here, we report the genome sequences of four Escherichia albertii isolates that were recovered from hunted wild boars in Switzerland in 2022 and 2023. The genome sizes of KBWS15i, KBWS35i, KBWS50i, and KBSW171i were 4.4 Mbp, 4.5 Mbp, 4.5 Mbp, and 4.7 Mbp, respectively.

Here, we report the genome sequences of two Escherichia albertii isolates recovered from a healthy dog (KBD171i) and cat (KBK128i) in Switzerland in 2022. The genome sizes of KBK128i and KBD171i were 4.7 Mbp and 4.9 Mbp, respectively.