Isolation and characterization of verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 from slaughter pigs and poultry

Rectal contents and tonsils from Dutch slaughter pigs collected immediately after slaughter were examined for the presence of verocytotoxin (VT)-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) of serogroup O157 (O157 VTEC). In addition, fresh fecal material from poultry layer flocks and turkey flocks collected on poultry farms was examined for the presence of O157 VTEC. E. coli O157 strains were isolated from two (1.4%) of 145 pigs. The strains were isolated from samples of rectal contents, all samples of tonsils being negative. While all 501 fecal samples from chicken flocks were found negative, E. coli O157 strains were isolated from six (1.3%) of 459 pooled fecal samples from turkey flocks. One of the porcine isolates and one of the turkey isolates contained the VT2 gene, the E. coli attaching-and-effacing gene, as well as the enterohemorrhagic E. coli hemolysin gene. Production of VT was confirmed by cytotoxicity tests on Vero cells. Based on these characteristics, the two stains were regarded as potentially pathogenic for humans. The porcine and the turkey isolate were further characterized as being of phage types 4 and 14, respectively. While biochemically typical of E. coli O157, the remaining six isolates were nonverocytotoxigenic and negative for both the E. coli attaching-and-effacing gene and the enterohemorrhagic E. coli hemolysin gene. All eight E. coli O157 isolates did not carry genes that encode E. coli heat-labile and heat-stable enterotoxins. It was concluded that pigs and poultry can be a source of O157 VTEC strains characteristic of those causing illness in man. The extent to which pigs and poultry play a role in the epidemiology of human O157 VTEC infection needs further research.