Risk factors for infection with verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli in cattle on Ontario dairy farms

Abstract

Risk factors for prevalent infection with verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) were studied in a random sample of 886 cows and 592 calves under 3 months of age on 80 randomly selected dairy farms in southern Ontario. Fecal-culture supernatants from each animal were screened for verocytotoxicity using a Vero cell assay (VCA) and for verocytotoxin (VT) genes by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedure. Up to 20 E. coli isolates from positive samples were tested for VT production using VCA and PCR. VTEC isolates were serotyped. Farm managers were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire to obtain information on farm- and individual animal-level management practices and characteristics. There was a significant ( P<0.001) positive association between age of calves and their VTEC infection status, and calves were significantly more likely to be infected than cows. The proportion of calves infected on the farm was positively associated with both the use of regular pails for feeding calves (as opposed to nipple bottles or nipple pails) and bringing new animals into the herd in the previous year.