Presence of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 in a survey of wild artiodactyls

Escherichia coli Serotype O55:H7 Diversity Supports Parallel Acquisition of Bacteriophage at Shiga Toxin Phage Insertion Sites during Evolution of the O157:H7 Lineage

“…Further support of the unstable nature of these mobile genetic elements includes their demonstrated ability to excise in the laboratory (2, 28), spontaneous loss of both stx 1 and stx 2 documented in EHEC patients (16,47,49), and loss of stx 2 upon subculture of a stx 2 ϩ SOR ϩ GUD ϩ O157:H7 strain isolated from a red deer in Spain (strain 290 in Fig. 2) (22). Although prophage instability had been acknowledged previously by the authors of some of the evolutionary models (20,72), this subtlety within what is otherwise a seminal and wellaccepted model has been lost.…”

Shiga Toxins, and the Genes Encoding Them, in Fecal Samples from Native Idaho Ungulates

“…STEC are transferred by the fecal-oral route, so wild animals and cattle sharing common areas would likely experience interspecies transfer (23). Although not studied extensively, O157:H7 isolates have been identified in wild deer (7,9,10,23,24) and have been implicated in at least one human infection (16,27).Nonetheless, wild deer are rarely screened for either Shiga toxin or its genes.Fecal pellets (collected from live mule deer and elk in Idaho from December 2005 to March 2006) cultured in tryptic soy broth (TSB) (Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, NJ) at 37°C were screened for Shiga toxin (Remel ProSpecT Shiga toxin microplate ELISA kit; Remel, Inc., Lexena, KS) and the stx 1 , stx 2 , eae (intimin), and ehx (enterohemolysin, also known as hemolysin A [hlyA]) genes (25) from total DNA (isolated using the Puregene DNA purification system [Gentra, Minneapolis, MN]) via PCR (Table 1).Fecal cultures (n ϭ 160) screened in this manner yielded 31/160 (19.4%) positive for Shiga toxin or the stx 1 or stx 2 genes (Table 2). From this pool, 26/31 (83.9%) amplified either stx 1 or stx 2 genes but no toxin was detected, while 5/31 (16.1%) exhibited both stx genes and toxin.…”

“…STEC are transferred by the fecal-oral route, so wild animals and cattle sharing common areas would likely experience interspecies transfer (23). Although not studied extensively, O157:H7 isolates have been identified in wild deer (7,9,10,23,24) and have been implicated in at least one human infection (16,27).…”

Molecular typing among beef isolates of Escherichia coli using consensus repetitive intergenic enterobacteria-polymerase chain reaction (ERIC-PCR)

“…It is also known for several infectious diseases such as abdominal pain, vomiting, mild diarrhoea to haemorrhagic colitis, life threatening hemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS), and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura [3][4].It has been tested that beef cattle and their products revealed high prevalence of E.coli 0157:H7 and other non0157 types. Hence, beef cattle are considered as a reservoir for these food pathogens [4].…”