Prevalence of Shiga Toxin Producing Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 Isolated from Chicken Meat in Northern Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

| Food borne diseases related to Escherichia coli pursue to be one of the most significant global level public health issue in the world. Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) produces a principal virulence factor shiga toxin (Stx), which can lead to diarrhea, haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), hemorrhagic colitis (HC) and other lethal complications. Consumption of STEC contaminated food has been associated with food related illnesses outbreak. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of O157:H7 strain of STEC by detection of Stx-1 and Stx-2 genes in 160 chicken meat samples, which are randomly collected from different regions of Northern Punjab, Pakistan. Isolation of pathogen from meat samples were performed with the use of International Organization for standardization based microbiological techniques, while chain reaction technique (PCR) was used for detection and characterization of Stx-1 and Stx-2 genes. In total, 75 (46.8%) isolates were detected as E. coli. Among them, 14 (8.75%) isolates were tested positive for Stx genes (Stx-1 and Stx-2). The detection of pathotype of shiga toxin producing E. coli O157:H7 in chicken meat is a significant finding because this pathogen has been related to food borne outbreaks. On the basis of our findings, routine diagnosis of STEC and improvement of hygienic measures must be considered as a critical concern for public health.