Prevalence and characteristics of attaching and effacing strains of Escherichia coli isolated from diarrheic and healthy sheep and goats.

Abstract

To determine the prevalence and characteristics of attaching and effacing Escherichia coli (AEEC) in diarrheic and healthy small ruminants. 502 lambs and kids with diarrhea and 511 healthy sheep and goats. Fecal samples from diarrheic and healthy sheep and goats were screened for the eae gene. In addition, E coli isolates with positive results for the eae gene (E coli eae+) were analyzed for the espB gene, production of verotoxins (VT), and serogroup. A significantly higher prevalence of healthy lambs and kids were infected with AEEC, compared with diarrheic lambs and kids and healthy adult sheep and goats. Some differences in the characteristics of E coli eae strains isolated from diarrheic and healthy animals were detected. Thus, the espB gene was detected more frequently among E coli eae+ strains isolated from healthy animals than in those isolated from diarrheic animals, and VT production was only detected in E coli eae+ strains isolated from healthy lambs and kids. The E coli eae+ isolates belonged to several O serogroups. However, 17 of 40 (42.5%) isolates from diarrheic lambs and only 4 of 168 (2.4%) isolates from healthy sheep belonged to serogroup 026. Our results suggest that E coli eae+ 026 strains may play a role in diarrheal disease in lambs, whereas E coli eae+ strains that also had VT production and eae+ strains that had positive results for the espB gene did not appear to be associated with diarrhea in small ruminants.