Abstract
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are an important group of emerging zoonotic pathogens carried in the intestinal tracts of ruminants. They can cause mild diarrhea and fatal disease characterized by hemolytic uremic syndrome, especially in children, the elderly, and immune-compromised individuals. The aim of this study was to determine if sheep harbor STEC. Sheep feces (n = 40), brisket wool (n = 40), and 150 meat samples were collected from the flank (n = 35), rump (n = 35), brisket (n = 20), shank (n = 25), diaphragm (n = 10), and neck (n = 25) of slaughter-age sheep at a high-throughput abattoir and tested for STEC using a combination of culture and real-time polymerase chain reaction techniques. E. coli O103 (5/40) and O145 (5/40) strains were isolated from the feces and E. coli O157:H7 was isolated from brisket wool (10/40) and flank meat (5/35). The results of this study provide the first report of STEC infections in sheep in Namibia. The results of this study show that sheep, like cattle, can shed STEC strains in their feces, which can contaminate meat and expose humans to infections.
Highlights
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are an important group of emerging zoonotic pathogens carried in the intestinal tracts of ruminants
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are a group of zoonotic pathogens that cause a wide range of clinical disorders, ranging from mild watery diarrhea to hemorrhagic colitis (HC) and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which is fatal, especially in children, the elderly, and immune-compromised patients [1,2]
Non-O157 STEC strains are less associated with human illness, some strains with the potential to cause severe disease are increasingly being isolated
Summary
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are an important group of emerging zoonotic pathogens carried in the intestinal tracts of ruminants They can cause mild diarrhea and fatal disease characterized by hemolytic uremic syndrome, especially in children, the elderly, and immune-compromised individuals. Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are a group of zoonotic pathogens that cause a wide range of clinical disorders, ranging from mild watery diarrhea to hemorrhagic colitis (HC) and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which is fatal, especially in children, the elderly, and immune-compromised patients [1,2]. They can be broadly grouped into O157 STEC and nonO157 STEC strains. In the United States, six non-O157 strains (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145) are recognized as a cause of foodborne infections in humans, and meat contaminated by these strains is considered adulterated [5]
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