Molecular Characterization of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Hide Contamination Routes: Feedlot to Harvest

Childs, K. D.; Simpson, C.A.; Warren-Serna, W.; Bellenger, G.; Centrella, B.; Bowling, R. A.; Ruby, John R.; Stefanek, J.; Vote, D. J.; Choat, T.; Scanga, J. A.; Sofos, John N.; Smith, G. C.; Belk, K. E.

doi:10.4315/0362-028x-69.6.1240

Cited by 30 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The assumption has been made that a reduction in this fecal shedding by feedlot animals will lead to a reduced number of organisms on the hides of animals presented for processing and thereby a decrease in carcass contamination. However, there are several potential sources of E. coli O157:H7 contamination during the transport and lairage (e.g., animals shedding high numbers of E. coli O157:H7, trucks, lairage pens, alleys, chutes, and restrainers) that would seem to make further contamination likely (2,12). In one study, genetically similar isolates were obtained from the lairage environment surfaces and from cattle hides during processing (12), but cattle hides were not sampled at the feedlot to determine whether the organisms in question were present before transport.…”

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confidence: 99%

Transportation and Lairage Environment Effects on Prevalence, Numbers, and Diversity of Escherichia coli O157:H7 on Hides and Carcasses of Beef Cattle at Processing

Arthur

Bosilevac

Brichta-Harhay

et al. 2007

Journal of Food Protection

123

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Hide has been established as the main source of carcass contamination during cattle processing; therefore, it is crucial to minimize the amount of Escherichia coli O157:H7 on cattle hides before slaughter. Several potential sources of E. coli O157: H7 are encountered during transportation and in the lairage environment at beef-processing facilities that could increase the prevalence and numbers of E. coli O157:H7 on the hides of cattle. On three separate occasions, samples were obtained from cattle at the feedlot and again after cattle were stunned and exsanguinated at the processing plant (286 total animals). The prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 on hides increased from 50.3 to 94.4% between the time cattle were loaded onto tractor-trailers at the feedlot and the time hides were removed in the processing plant. Before transport, nine animals had E. coli O157:H7 in high numbers (Ͼ0.4 CFU/cm 2 ) on their hides. When sampled at the slaughter facility, the number of animals with high hide numbers had increased to 70. Overall, only 29% of the E. coli O157:H7 isolates collected postharvest (221 of 764) matched pulsed-field gel electrophoresis types collected before transport. The results of this study indicate that transport to and lairage at processing plants can lead to increases in the prevalence and degree of E. coli O157:H7 contamination on hides and the number of E. coli O157:H7 pulsed-field gel electrophoresis types associated with the animals. More study is needed to confirm the mechanism by which additional E. coli O157:H7 strains contaminate cattle hides during transport and lairage and to design interventions to prevent this contamination.Recent work has revealed that the major source of beef carcass contamination is cattle hides (4,7,8,20). In a study done by , the carcass contamination rates during processing could not be accounted for by the fecal prevalence of Escherichia coli O157:H7, but could be accounted for by hide prevalence. Bosilevac et al. (7,8) and Nou et al. (20) extended these findings by demonstrating that antimicrobial interventions targeting cattle hides lead to drastic reductions in the rates of carcass contamination with E. coli O157:H7.Because hide is the main source of carcass contamination, it is crucial to minimize the amount of E. coli O157: H7 on cattle hides before slaughter. Cattle can shed E. coli O157:H7 in their feces at concentrations as high as 10 6 CFU/g (24). One such high shedder could contaminate the hides of many animals, especially in high-density situations like the transport truck or lairage environment. Few studies have addressed the effects of external contamination sources on E. coli O157:H7 hide prevalence during transport and lairage. Barham et al. (3) isolated E. coli O157:H7 from samples taken from truck trailers before cattle were loaded. It was not

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Transportation and Lairage Environment Effects on Prevalence, Numbers, and Diversity of Escherichia coli O157:H7 on Hides and Carcasses of Beef Cattle at Processing

Arthur

Bosilevac

Brichta-Harhay

et al. 2007

Journal of Food Protection

123

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“…Typically, this lot will have a shared diet and management regimen, and previous reports indicate that as a lot, cattle may share a predominant E. coli O157:H7 strain (16,17) in the feedlot environment. Our group and others (3,(18)(19)(20) have shown that upon arrival at the beef processing plant, the lairage environment can result in significant pathogen contamination of the cattle hide. This additional contamination adds many new strain types to the hide microflora, which may subsequently be transferred to the dehided carcass (3,7).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…As cattle are placed in lairage at the processing plant, further contamination of the hide by E. coli O157:H7 occurs, which results in further increased strain diversity in the incoming load (3,19,20). This diversity can be observed in the hide sampling results presented in Table 3.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…LeJeune et al (16) Upon exiting the production environment, cattle are exposed to additional E. coli O157:H7 contamination during transportation to the processing plant (18,19,22). Arthur et al (18) found that up to 10% of the E. coli O157:H7 isolates obtained from carcasses within a lot during processing matched genotypes found in the trucks they were transported on, which were different from the genotypes found in the feedlot the cattle originated from.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characterization of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Strains from Contaminated Raw Beef Trim during “High Event Periods”

Arthur

Bono

Kalchayanand

2014

Appl Environ Microbiol

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The development and implementation of effective antimicrobial interventions by the beef processing industry in the United States have dramatically reduced the incidence of beef trim contamination by Escherichia coli O157:H7. However, individual processing plants still experience sporadic peaks in contamination rates where multiple E. coli O157:H7-positive lots are clustered in a short time frame. These peaks have been referred to as "high event periods" (HEP) of contamination. The results reported here detail the characterization of E. coli O157:H7 isolates from 21 HEP across multiple companies and processing plants to gain insight regarding the mechanisms causing these incidents. Strain genotypes were determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and isolates were investigated for characteristics linking them to human illness. Through these analyses, it was determined that individual HEP show little to no diversity in strain genotypes. Hence, each HEP has one strain type that makes up most, if not all, of the contamination. This is shown to differ from the genotypic diversity of E. coli O157:H7 found on the hides of cattle entering processing plants. In addition, it was found that a large proportion (81%) of HEP are caused by strain types associated with human illness. These results pose a potential challenge to the current model for finished product contamination during beef processing.T he development and implementation of effective antimicrobial interventions by the beef processing industry in the United States have reduced the incidence of beef trim contamination by Escherichia coli O157:H7. These improvements have resulted in decreased contamination rates of raw beef trim by the bacterial pathogen E. coli O157:H7, to an estimated national prevalence of 0.39% (1). However, individual processing plants experience sporadic peaks in contamination rates where multiple positive lots are clustered in a short time frame. These peaks have been referred to as "high event periods" (HEP) of contamination. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the USDA has defined HEP as production intervals during which slaughter establishments experience high rates of positive results for E. coli O157:H7 (or Shiga-toxigenic E. coli [STEC] or virulence markers) in trim samples (2). Typically, a cause/source for a HEP is not identified, and the contamination event will be resolved before notable correction of the process can be performed.The current model of finished product contamination during beef processing starts with the pathogen load on the hides of cattle entering the processing plant. Several studies (3-5) have identified the hide as the major source of E. coli O157:H7 contamination of carcasses during processing. Once contamination has been transferred from the hide to the carcass during dehiding, it must be removed or destroyed through antimicrobial interventions to prevent finished product contamination. However, research has indicated that interventions or even systems of multiple interventions can be overwhe...

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“…Furthermore, manure and other animal waste management technologies must be put in place to contain pathogens in order to prevent or minimize human and animal exposures to them and thus the associated health risks [3,[24][25][26]. In fact, manures in most liarages should be routinely scraped and sold to landscapers and farmers as organic fertilizers [27]. By so doing, it would reduce the eyesore nature of the manure piles in these liarages in urban agglomerations as well as the chemical pollutants that can potentially contaminate surface and ground water systems [28][29][30].…”

Section: Microbial Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concentrated Animal Wastes as Urban Land Pollutants: A Case Study of Liarages in Some Southern Nigeria’s Urban Agglomerations

It¹,

Zimughan²,

Ih³

2017

J Pollut Eff Cont

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The rising rural-to-urban migration across Nigeria is driving demand for more food and meat and thus the increasing influx of livestock such as cattle to abattoirs and thus the proliferation of liarages. This study was therefore initiated to 1) Qualitatively evaluate the potential impact of the selected liarages on their immediate vicinity and 2) Evaluate the extent and magnitude of the pollution associated with the liarages in terms of physico-chemical and microbiological properties of the environmental media in two southern Nigeria's agglomerations (Benin city, Edo and Warri, Delta States).Soil and surface runoff water were collected from four randomly selected liarages and borehole water samples near each liarages in Warri. A general qualitative evaluation of the liarages was undertaken while samples collected were analyzed for physico-chemical and microbiological properties using standard analytical procedures.The result shows that all the liarages were littered with concentrated foul-smelling animal wastes (solid and liquid) that were unpleasant to see in major urban centers. Also, they had poorly constructed sheds or shacks against the background of medium to high value residential homes that could lower property values in these urban agglomerations. Except for pH, the physico-chemical properties such as phosphate, nitrate, Organic carbon and turbidity were relatively high and declined in the down slope positions relative to the main liarages; Top soil samples had total coliform count ranging from 3.3×10 4 to 5.0×10 4 ± 2.12; fecal coliform ranged from 2.6×10 3 to 2.8×10 4 ± 42.42 while E. coli ranged from 2.1×10 3 to 7.7×10 3 ± 2.82 across all sampled locations. Borehole water for drinking was slightly burdened with coliform bacteria ranging from 1.0×10 1 ± 0.07 to 8.2×10 1 ± 3.53. Enterobacter spp was the most frequently isolated microbial species identified in all the runoff water that could potentially contaminate surface water bodies. We conclude that liarages can negatively impact the urban landscape aesthetically as well as air, water, land/soil quality within the immediate vicinity and thus could lower property values. It is thereby recommended that liarages be regulated with respect to location and number, while engineered liarages with septic tanks is recommended as alternatives, with routine manure removal and use for growing horticultural crops in these major agglomerations.

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Molecular Characterization of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Hide Contamination Routes: Feedlot to Harvest

Cited by 30 publications

References 24 publications

Transportation and Lairage Environment Effects on Prevalence, Numbers, and Diversity of Escherichia coli O157:H7 on Hides and Carcasses of Beef Cattle at Processing

Transportation and Lairage Environment Effects on Prevalence, Numbers, and Diversity of Escherichia coli O157:H7 on Hides and Carcasses of Beef Cattle at Processing

Characterization of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Strains from Contaminated Raw Beef Trim during “High Event Periods”

Concentrated Animal Wastes as Urban Land Pollutants: A Case Study of Liarages in Some Southern Nigeria’s Urban Agglomerations

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