Abstract
Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli serogroup O26 is an important public health pathogen. Phylogenetic bacterial lineages in a country can be associated with the level and timing of international imports of live cattle, the main reservoir. We sequenced the genomes of 152 E. coli O26 isolates from New Zealand and compared them with 252 E. coli O26 genomes from 14 other countries. Gene variation among isolates from humans, animals, and food was strongly associated with country of origin and stx toxin profile but not isolation source. Time of origin estimates indicate serogroup O26 sequence type 21 was introduced at least 3 times into New Zealand from the 1920s to the 1980s, whereas nonvirulent O26 sequence type 29 strains were introduced during the early 2000s. New Zealand’s remarkably fewer introductions of Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli O26 compared with other countries (such as Japan) might be related to patterns of trade in live cattle.
Highlights
Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli serogroup O26 is an important public health pathogen
Our objective was to compare genomes of E. coli serogroup O26 isolates from human clinical cases and cattle in New Zealand with genomes of bacterial isolates from non–New Zealand sources, examining the genetic diversity and population structure, evolution, time to most recent common ancestor, antimicrobial resistance, and virulence genes
Most genomes were obtained from New Zealand (152 genomes), Japan (94 genomes), and the United States (79 genomes) (Table 1)
Summary
Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli serogroup O26 is an important public health pathogen. Phylogenetic bacterial lineages in a country can be associated with the level and timing of international imports of live cattle, the main reservoir. We sequenced the genomes of 152 E. coli O26 isolates from New Zealand and compared them with 252. Time of origin estimates indicate serogroup O26 sequence type 21 was introduced at least 3 times into New Zealand from the 1920s to the. 1980s, whereas nonvirulent O26 sequence type 29 strains were introduced during the early 2000s. Escherichia coli O26 compared with other countries (such as Japan) might be related to patterns of trade in live cattle. S higa toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is an important public health pathogen, capable of causing hemorrhagic diarrhea and life-threatening kidney failure, Author affiliations: Massey University, Palmerston North, New
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