Abstract
Escherichia coli O157:H7 is considered as an important pathogen of diarrhea in adult dogs and puppies because it contains virulence genes. The study objective was to the molecular detection of the rfbO157 encoding the O-antigen specific for E. coli O157: H7,shiga toxins and hemolysin genes of E.coli O157:H7 in feces of dogs that collected from different regions in Tikrit and Mosul cities, Iraq. One hundred fecal swabs were collected from pet and K9 dogs including (72 dogs with diarrhea, and 28 without diarrhea). All the Collected swabs were cultured in the nutrient and MacConkey agars, Then the suspected colonies were cultured in the EMB agar. Metallic sheen colonies were cultured by using the chrome agar. All bacteriological identified isolates were enrolled by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. The results of this study showed that 7(9.7%) of 72 dogs suffered from diarrhea were positive for E. coli O157:H7 that contained the rfbO157 gene (n= 6), carry stx1 gene (n= 3), carry stx2 gene (n= 3), and hlyA gene (n= 1). On the other hand, 2 (7.1%) of 28 dogs without diarrhea were positive for E. coli O157:H7 that contained the rfbO157 gene (n= 1), stx2 gene (n= 1), and hlyA gene (n= 1). In conclusion, dogs can be a significant reservoir for pathogenic E. coli O157:H7, particularly dogs with diarrhea.
Highlights
Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is a pathogenic bacterium causes critical gastrointestinal infection in the human range between mild diarrhea and hemorrhagic colitis [1]
The results of the present study showed that 9.7% (7/72) of dogs with diarrhea and 7.1% (2/28) of dogs without diarrhea tested positive for E. coli O157:H7 (Table 2)
This study indicated that Hichrom agar greatly helped in diagnosis of E. coli O157H: 7. Hichrom agar is considered suitable medium for isolation and identification E. coli O157H: 7 compared to MacConkey and EMB ager, as Hichrom medium contains sorbitol and chromogenic mixture instead of lactose and indicator dyes respectively
Summary
Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is a pathogenic bacterium causes critical gastrointestinal infection in the human range between mild diarrhea and hemorrhagic colitis [1]. One study conducted over a period of 3 years using 614 fecal samples collected from dogs and cat, only one dog; pet for an infected person, was positive and possess the stx and stx genes [6]. A study of Ojo et al (2014) appeared that the E. coli O157:H7 isolates found in 16.1% and 26.9% of the, fecal samples collected from dogs with and without diarrhea [7]. Out of 26 isolates, 24 samples were positive using Congo red dye [11] Another recent study in 2020 by Al-Kubaisi and colleagues recorded 33 (66%) dogs tested positive E. coli from samples obtained from Anbar and Salahuddin governorates [12]
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