Investigation of shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in avian species in India

Abstract

Aims: To investigate the presence or absence of shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in avian species in India. Methods and Results: Faecal samples originating from 500 chicken and 25 free flying pigeons were screened for the presence of E. coli. A total of 426 (chicken, 401; pigeons, 25) E. coli strains were isolated. Of 426 E. coli strains, 387 were grouped into 77 serogroups, while 70 and 59 strains were untypable and rough, respectively. All isolates were subjected to multiplex polymerase chain reaction (m-PCR) for the detection of stx 1 , stx 2 , eaeA, hlyA and saa genes. None of the E. coli strains studied showed the presence of stx 1 , stx 2 or their variants and saa genes. Overall 11 (2AE74%) and seven (1AE74%) strains from chickens possessed eaeA and hlyA genes, respectively, while as only six (1AE49%) strains from chickens possessed both eaeA and hlyA genes. O9, O8, O60 and O25 serogroups were most predominant of which there were 24 (5AE63%), 23 (5AE39%), 23 (5AE39%) and 20 (4AE69%) strains, respectively. None of the isolates from pigeons showed the presence of any of the virulence genes studied. Conclusions: STEC are absent in chickens and pigeons. However, further studies are required in this direction to confirm or contradict our findings. E. coli strains originating from birds are carrying a low percentage eaeA or hlyA genes.

Prevalence of Shiga Toxin-Producing and Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli in Wild and Pet Birds in Iran

“…In broilers, the stx2 gene was detected in 4.5% of the isolates in Iran (Ghanbarpour et al, 2011). On the other hand, some studies found no Shiga toxin genes in E.coli strains from poultry (Wani et al, 2004;Farooq et al, 2009). Similarly, stx1 or stx2 genes were not detected in E. coli from wild birds (Kobayashi et al, 2009), which is in agreement with the findings of the present study.…”

Virulence gene(s) Gamut of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in Piglets with or without Diarrhoea in Mizoram (India)

“…Similarly, there was no association between saa and hlyA gene, which was also in corroboration to the result of Beraldo et al, (2014). However, the present result is in contrast to earlier workers (Olivera et al, 2007;Wani et al, 2004), who reported the mutually inclusiveness of saa and hlyA gene, which can be explained by the high variability of the large STEC plasmids (Brunder et al, 1997) and it may also be possible that hlyA gene is not located on the same plasmid with saa. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on detection of saagene from piglets with or without diarrhoea in India.…”

Molecular and phenotypic characterization of shigatoxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) and enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) from piglets and infants associated with diarrhoea in Mizoram, India

“…EPEC isolates are leading cause of diarrhoea, especially among infants in the developing world (Bhat et al, 2008). In India, there is a paucity of information on STEC and it has not been identified as a significant etiological agent of diarrhoea for humans (Wani et al, 2004). Till date, sporadic reports are available on isolation, identification and characterization of STEC in human and animals (Wani et al, 2004;Barman et al, 2008).…”

“…In India, there is a paucity of information on STEC and it has not been identified as a significant etiological agent of diarrhoea for humans (Wani et al, 2004). Till date, sporadic reports are available on isolation, identification and characterization of STEC in human and animals (Wani et al, 2004;Barman et al, 2008). Information on prevalence of STEC and EPEC in pigs is rare in India.…”

“…Shigatoxin producing E. coli (STEC), also known as verotoxin producing E. coli (VTEC), comprises a serologically diverse group of pathogens that cause disease in humans and animals (Barman et al, 2008). STEC constitute one of the most important causes of foodborne diseases worldwide (Wani et al, 2004). The common features of STEC are the production of shigatoxins (Stx) that are considered to be the major virulence factors.…”