Abstract
Escherichia coli O157:H7 is an important food-borne pathogen that can cause diarrhea, haemorrhagic colitis and haemolytic uremic syndrome. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence, virulence genes and antibiotic resistance patterns of E. coli O157:H7 in raw beef meat sold in Abeokuta, South west Nigeria. One hundred and twenty samples of raw beef meat were collected from four abattoirs and examined for the presence of E. coli O157:H7. The virulence genes (stx1, stx2, eaeA and hlyA) were detected in E. coli O157:H7 isolates by polymerase chain reactions. The antibiotic resistance patterns of the isolates were determined using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Of 120 samples analyzed, 8 (6.67%) were contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, with highest prevalence rate (2.5%) found in beef samples collected from Rounder abattoir. The virulence genes (stx 1 and stx 2 genes) were detected in 7 (87.5%) of E. coli O157:H7 isolates while no eaeA and hlyA genes were found. All the E. coli O157:H7 isolates were highly resistant to tetracycline, ampicillin, erythromycin and chloramphenicol and sensitive to ciprofloxacin and streptomycin. The results of this study revealed that raw beef meat could be potential vehicles of transmitting multi-drug resistant, shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 to humans. Keywords : Pathogen, E. coli O157:H7, virulence genes, antibiotic-resistance, beef meat
Highlights
The threat posed by enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli diseases spread via contaminated and improperly cooked meat has been well recognized (Elmali et al., 2005)
Consumption of improperly cooked contaminated beef meat as well as raw milk of bovine origin have been found to be one of the methods of transmitting this organism to humans and these products have been implicated in the outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 infections (Dontorou et al, 2003; Oksuz et al, 2004; Abong’O and Momba, 2009)
The objectives of the present study were: (1) to determine the prevalence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in raw beef sold in Abeokuta, (2) to assess the frequency of four virulence genes in the isolated strains, and (3) to determine the antibiotic resistance patterns of the isolates
Summary
The threat posed by enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli diseases spread via contaminated and improperly cooked meat has been well recognized (Elmali et al., 2005). Consumption of improperly cooked contaminated beef meat as well as raw milk of bovine origin have been found to be one of the methods of transmitting this organism to humans and these products have been implicated in the outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 infections (Dontorou et al, 2003; Oksuz et al, 2004; Abong’O and Momba, 2009). Other foods such as unpasteurized goat’s milk, cheese, meat sandwiches, lettuce, unpasteurized apple cider and apple juice have been implicated in causing outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 (Rahimi et al, 2011)
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