Abstract
Each year Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are responsible for 2.8 million acute illnesses around the world and > 250,000 cases in the US. Lowering the prevalence of this pathogen in animal reservoirs has the potential to reduce STEC outbreaks in humans by controlling its entrance into the food chain. However, factors that modulate the colonization and persistence of STEC in beef cattle remain largely unidentified. This study evaluated if animal physiological factors such as age, breed, sex, and weight gain influenced the shedding of STEC in beef cattle. A cohort of beef calves (n = 260) from a multi-breed beef calf population was sampled every three months after birth to measure prevalence and concentration of STEC during the first year of life. Metagenomic analysis was also used to understand the association between the STEC colonization and the composition of gut microflora. This study identified that beef calves were more likely to shed STEC during the first 6 months and that STEC shedding decreased as the animal matured. Animal breed group, sex of the calf, and average weight gain were not significantly associated with STEC colonization. The metagenomic analysis revealed for the first time that STEC colonization was correlated with a lower diversity of gut microflora, which increases as the cattle matured. Given these findings, intervention strategies that segregate younger animals, more likely to be colonized by STEC from older animals that are ready to be harvested, could be investigated as a method to reduce zoonotic transmission of STEC from cattle to humans.
Highlights
Infections from Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are responsible for 2.8 million acute illnesses around the world every year [1] with more than 265,000 illnesses occurring in the United States [2]
By following a cohort of beef calves born in the same calving period from a single farm, we were able to gain novel insights into the dynamics of STEC colonization
Utilization of metagenomic analyses allowed for the first time an investigation of the role of gut microflora on the dynamics of STEC colonization
Summary
Infections from Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are responsible for 2.8 million acute illnesses around the world every year [1] with more than 265,000 illnesses occurring in the United States [2]. Cattle are asymptomatic carriers of STEC and have been suggested to be the primary reservoirs of human illness, where zoonotic transmission occurs through several routes including contaminated food, fecal-oral contamination, and direct contact with animals [4, 5]. Since the majority of human infections by STEC likely originate from contaminated animal products, especially beef [6], it has been proposed that a reduction in fecal shedding of STEC by cattle may significantly reduce the incidence of human infections [7, 8]. The reduction of STEC at the pre-harvest level represents an opportunity to control the exposure to contaminated animal products and reduce transmission to humans [9]. Many of the factors that affect the colonization dynamics of STEC in beef cattle remain unidentified, which makes the reduction of STEC at the pre-harvest level challenging
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