J Vet Sci.  2014 Sep;15(3):369-379. 10.4142/jvs.2014.15.3.369.

Prevalence and characteristics of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) from cattle in Korea between 2010 and 2011

• Kang E
• Hwang SY
• Kwon KH
• Kim KY
• Kim JH
• Park YH

• KMID: 2155620
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4142/jvs.2014.15.3.369

Abstract

A total of 156 Shiga-like toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) were isolated from fecal samples of Korean native (100/568, 18%) and Holstein dairy cattle (56/524, 11%) in Korea between September 2010 and July 2011. Fifty-two STEC isolates (33%) harbored both of shiga toxin1 (stx1) and shiga toxin2 (stx2) genes encoding enterohemolysin (EhxA) and autoagglutinating adhesion (Saa) were detected by PCR in 83 (53%) and 65 (42%) isolates, respectively. By serotyping, six STEC from native cattle and four STEC from dairy cattle were identified as O-serotypes (O26, O111, O104, and O157) that can cause human disease. Multilocus sequence typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns highlighted the genetic diversity of the STEC strains and difference between strains collected during different years. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests showed that the multidrug resistance rate increased from 12% in 2010 to 42% in 2011. Differences between isolates collected in 2010 and 2011 may have resulted from seasonal variations or large-scale slaughtering in Korea performed to control a foot and mouth disease outbreak that occurred in early 2011. However, continuous epidemiologic studies will be needed to understand mechanisms. More public health efforts are required to minimize STEC infection transmitted via dairy products and the prevalence of these bacteria in dairy cattle.

Keyword

cattle; Escherichia coli; multidrug resistance; serotyping; Shiga toxin

MeSH Terms

Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology
Cattle/microbiology
Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial
Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field/veterinary
Escherichia coli Infections/epidemiology/microbiology/*veterinary
Female
Genes, Bacterial/genetics
Latex Fixation Tests/veterinary
Microbial Sensitivity Tests/veterinary
Multilocus Sequence Typing/veterinary
Prevalence
Republic of Korea/epidemiology
Shiga Toxin 1/genetics
Shiga Toxin 2/genetics
*Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli/drug effects/genetics
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Shiga Toxin 1
Shiga Toxin 2

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Characteristics of 38 groups established based on PFGE (XbaI) patterns of 156 STEC isolated from native and dairy cattle in six regions of Korea between 2010 and 2011. A, Gyeonggi; B, Chungcheong; C, Jeolla; D, Gyeongsang; E, Gangwon; F, Jeju. *MLST cplx is the clonal complex of multilocus sequence typing.

• 

  Fig. 2 Antimicrobial resistant rates for STEC isolated between 2010 and 2011. Black bars represent the antimicrobial resistant rates of native cattle isolates and white bars represent the antimicrobial resistant rates of dairy cattle isolates. DC: dairy cattle, NC: native cattle, CB: carbenicillin, CZ: cefazolin, AMC: amoxicillin/clavulanate, AM: ampicillin, IPM: imipenem, C: chloramphenicol, TE: tetracycline, CL: colistin, CIP: ciprofloxacin, NA: nalidixic acid, N: neomycin, S: streptomycin, AN: amikacin, GM: gentamicin.

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