Prevalence of Shiga Toxin–Producing Escherichia coli in Beef Cattle

Abstract

A large number of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains have caused major outbreaks and sporadic cases of human illnesses, including mild diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis, and the life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome. These illnesses have been traced to both O157 and non-O157 STEC. In a large number of STEC-associated outbreaks, the infections were attributed to consumption of ground beef or other beef products contaminated with cattle feces. Thus, beef cattle are considered reservoirs of STEC and can pose significant health risks to humans. The global nature of the human food supply suggests that safety concerns with beef will continue and the challenges facing the beef industry will increase at the production and processing levels. To be prepared to address these concerns and challenges, it is critical to assess the role of beef cattle in human STEC infections. In this review, published reports on STEC in beef cattle were evaluated to achieve the following specific objectives: (i) assess the prevalence of STEC in beef cattle, and (ii) determine the potential health risks of STEC strains from beef cattle. The latter objective is critically important because many beef STEC isolates are highly virulent. Global testing of beef cattle feces revealed wide ranges of prevalence rates for O157 STEC (i.e., 0.2 to 27.8%) and non-O157 STEC (i.e., 2.1 to 70.1%). Of the 261 STEC serotypes found in beef cattle, 44 cause hemolytic uremic syndrome and 37 cause other illnesses.

Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli in ready-to-eat food staffs: Prevalence and distribution of putative virulence factors

“…[9][10][11][12] All of the ready to eat food samples of our investigation were meat-based ready to eat foods. Some of them like sausage, salami and soup were Article produced in high temperature and therefore were free from any pathogenic bacteria.…”

Simultaneous occurrence of selected food-borne bacterial pathogens on bovine hides, carcasses and beef meat

“…It has also been shown that some pathogenic bacteria, including VTEC and Salmonella, can be transferred from hides to carcasses during processing (Elder et al 2000, Reid et al 2003, Hussein and Bollinger 2005. The prevalence of pathogens in cattle identified during the slaughter process has varied considerably in the previously described surveys (Bell 1997, Scanga et al 2000, Madden et al 2001, Barkocy-Gallagher et al 2003, Rivera-Betancourt et al 2004, Brichta-Harhay et al 2008, Bosilevac et al 2009.…”

Elazığ’da Mezbahalarda Kesilen Sığırlardan ve Piyasada Satılan Kıymalardan Shiga Toksin Üreten Escherichia coli O157’nin İzolasyonu, Virulens Genleri ve Antibiyotiklere Duyarlılıkları

“…However, samples were collected in winter and spring months. It was reported that in ruminants the prevalence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 is the highest in summer months and decreases in winter months 6,26 . Pathogenic STEC strains produce toxins that cause human illnesses and can produce other virulence factors that may increase the severity of illnesses.…”

“…Although it is isolated from many animal species, it was reported that STEC O157 is largely hosted in cattle intestines without showing any symptoms 6 . It was reported that cattle beef, milk and the products obtained from them play an important role in the development of human STEC infections 1 .…”

“…Additional virulence factors have also been described including intimin (encoded by the eaeA gene) and EHEC hemolysin (encoded by EHEC hlyA gene) 1,6 . The widespread use of antibiotics in food animals has resulted in an increase in resistant strains of bacteria.…”