Vero cytotoxigenic Escherichia coli infection in dairy farm families.

Fecal samples from 335 dairy farm residents and 1458 cattle on 80 farms were tested for Vero cytotoxin (VT)-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC). Residents were also tested for antibodies to VT1 and O157 lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Residents and cattle on farms with VTEC-positive persons or E. coli O157:H7-positive cattle were retested. Twenty-one persons (6.3%) on 16 farms (20.8%) and 46% of cattle on 100% of the farms had VTEC in fecal samples. Human VTEC isolates included E. coli O157:H7 and 8 other serotypes, 4 of which were present in cattle on the same farms. More persons had antibodies to VT1 (41%) than to O157 LPS (12.5%). Seropositivity to O157 LPS was associated with isolation of E. coli O157:H7 on the farm (P = .022). Human VTEC infection was negatively associated with age (P < .05) and was not associated with clinical illness. Many dairy farm residents experience subclinical immunizing VTEC infections at a young age, which frequently involve non-O157 VTEC found in cattle.

[1]  D. Collett.  Modelling Binary Data , 1991 .

[2]  H. Lior,et al.  Prevalence of verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli in ground beef, pork, and chicken in southwestern Ontario , 1990, Epidemiology and Infection.

[3]  J. Spika,et al.  Ground beef consumption in noncommercial settings is a risk factor for sporadic Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection in Canada. , 1993, The Journal of infectious diseases.

[4]  E. Blair,et al.  NEW TRANSPORT MEDIUM FOR SHIPMENT OF CLINICAL SPECIMENS I , 1964, Journal of bacteriology.

[5]  M. Doyle,et al.  Isolation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 from retail fresh meats and poultry , 1987, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[6]  G. Nair,et al.  Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of immunoglobulin G antibodies to Escherichia coli Vero cytotoxin 1 , 1994, Journal of clinical microbiology.

[7]  H. Lior,et al.  Isolation of verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli from milk filters in south-western Ontario , 1989, Epidemiology and Infection.

[8]  Cleary Tg.  Escherichia coli that cause hemolytic uremic syndrome. , 1992 .

[9]  C. Pai,et al.  Epidemiology of sporadic diarrhea due to verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli: a two-year prospective study. , 1988, The Journal of infectious diseases.

[10]  J. Waters,et al.  Infection caused by Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Alberta, Canada, and in Scotland: a five-year review, 1987-1991. , 1994, Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

[11]  A. Borczyk,et al.  Evidence of direct transmission of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection between calves and a human. , 1993, The Journal of infectious diseases.

[12]  T. Takeda,et al.  High prevalence of serum antibodies to Verotoxins 1 and 2 among healthy adults in Japan. , 1993, Journal of Infection.

[13]  P. Tarr.  Escherichia coli 0157:H7: Clinical, Diagnostic, and Epidemiological Aspects of Human Infection , 1995 .

[14]  S A McEwen,et al.  Distribution and characteristics of verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli isolated from Ontario dairy cattle , 1992, Epidemiology and Infection.

[15]  H. Lior,et al.  The association between idiopathic hemolytic uremic syndrome and infection by verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli. , 1985, The Journal of infectious diseases.

[16]  H. Lior,et al.  Differentiation of Shiga toxin and Vero cytotoxin type 1 genes by polymerase chain reaction. , 1990, The Journal of infectious diseases.

[17]  A. Borczyk,et al.  BOVINE RESERVOIR FOR VEROTOXIN-PRODUCING ESCHERICHIA COLI 0157:H7 , 1987, The Lancet.

[18]  M. Karmali,et al.  Infection by verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli , 1989, Clinical Microbiology Reviews.

[19]  J. H. Green,et al.  Isolation of Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7 and other Shiga-like-toxin-producing E. coli from dairy cattle , 1991, Journal of clinical microbiology.

[20]  A. Borczyk,et al.  Sequence heterogeneity of the eae gene and detection of verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli using serotype-specific primers , 1994, Epidemiology and Infection.

[21]  B. Rowe,et al.  Properties of Vero cytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli of human origin of O serogroups other than O157. , 1992, The Journal of infectious diseases.

[22]  H. Lior,et al.  Differentiation of Genes Coding for Escherichia coli Verotoxin 2 and the Verotoxin Associated with Porcine Edema Disease (VTe) by the Polymerase Chain Reaction , 1990, Journal of clinical microbiology.

[23]  H. Lior,et al.  Diarrhoea in close contacts as a risk factor for childhood haemolytic uraemic syndrome , 1993, Epidemiology and Infection.

[24]  R. Tauxe,et al.  The epidemiology of infections caused by Escherichia coli O157:H7, other enterohemorrhagic E. coli, and the associated hemolytic uremic syndrome. , 1991, Epidemiologic reviews.

[25]  S. Martin,et al.  Factors associated with the presence of Salmonella spp. in dairy farm families in southwestern Ontario. , 1988, Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique.

[26]  S. McEwen,et al.  Polymerase chain reaction for detection of verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli isolated from animal and food sources. , 1992, Molecular and cellular probes.

[27]  H. Lior,et al.  Prevalence of the eaeA gene in verotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains from dairy cattle in Southwest Ontario , 1996, Epidemiology and Infection.

[28]  J. Wells,et al.  Hemolytic uremic syndrome and diarrhea associated with Escherichia coli 0157:H7 in a day care center , 1986 .

[29]  T. Louie,et al.  Impact of free verotoxin testing on epidemiology of diarrhea caused by verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli , 1995, Journal of clinical microbiology.