Antibiotic Resistance, Virulence Gene, and Molecular Profiles of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Isolates from Diverse Sources in Calcutta, India

ABSTRACT Antibiotic resistance, virulence gene, and molecular profiles of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) non-O157 strains isolated from human stool samples, cow stool samples, and beef samples over a period of 2 years in Calcutta, India, were determined. Resistance to one or more antibiotics was observed in 49.2% of the STEC strains, with some of the strains exhibiting multidrug resistance. The dominant combinations of virulence genes present in the strains studied were stx1 and stx2 (44.5% of strains) and stx1, stx2, and hlyA (enterohemorrhagic E. coli hemolysin gene) (19% of strains). Only 6.4% of the STEC strains harbored eae. The diversity of STEC strains from various sources was assessed by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD). STEC strains that gave identical or nearly similar DNA fingerprints in RAPD-PCR and had similar virulence genotypes were further characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Identical RAPD and PFGE profiles were observed in four sets of strains, with each set comprising two strains. There was no match in the RAPD and PFGE profiles between strains of STEC isolated from cows and those isolated from humans. It appears that the clones present in bovine sources are not transmitted to humans in the Calcutta setting although these strains showed evolutionary relatedness. Maybe for this reason, STEC has still not become a major problem in India.

[1]  A. Siitonen,et al.  Clinical Isolates of Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-ProducingEscherichia coli: Serotypes, Virulence Characteristics, and Molecular Profiles of Strains of the Same Serotype , 2001, Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

[2]  M. Nishibuchi,et al.  Detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 by multiplex PCR and their characterization by plasmid profiling, antimicrobial resistance, RAPD and PFGE analyses. , 2001, Journal of microbiological methods.

[3]  N. Pradel,et al.  Heterogeneity of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome Patients, Cattle, and Food Samples in Central France , 2001, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[4]  S. Djordjevic,et al.  Virulence Properties and Serotypes of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli from Healthy Australian Slaughter-Age Sheep , 2001, Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

[5]  Shaohua Zhao,et al.  Identification and Characterization of Integron-Mediated Antibiotic Resistance among Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Isolates , 2001, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[6]  D. Acheson,et al.  Prevalence, Antibiotic Susceptibility, and Diversity ofEscherichia coli O157:H7 Isolates from a Longitudinal Study of Beef Cattle Feedlots , 2001, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[7]  D. Law.  Virulence factors of Escherichia coli O157 and other Shiga toxin‐producing E. coli , 2000, Journal of applied microbiology.

[8]  A. Caprioli,et al.  Typing of Intimin Genes in Human and Animal Enterohemorrhagic and Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli: Characterization of a New Intimin Variant , 2000, Infection and Immunity.

[9]  J. Lanser,et al.  Molecular Characterization of a Shiga ToxigenicEscherichia coli O113:H21 Strain Lacking eaeResponsible for a Cluster of Cases of Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome , 1999, Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

[10]  S. Yamasaki,et al.  Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli from healthy cattle in a semi-urban community in Calcutta, India. , 1999, The Indian journal of medical research.

[11]  J. Hadler,et al.  A multistate outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections associated with consumption of mesclun lettuce. , 1999, Archives of internal medicine.

[12]  S. McEwen,et al.  Associations between Virulence Factors of Shiga Toxin-ProducingEscherichia coli and Disease in Humans , 1999, Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

[13]  Kim Ziebell,et al.  Association of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coliHemolysin with Serotypes of Shiga-Like-Toxin-ProducingEscherichia coli of Human and Bovine Origins , 1998, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[14]  H. Karch,et al.  Antibiotic susceptibilities of verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 and non-O157 strains isolated from patients and healthy subjects in Germany during 1996. , 1998, The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy.

[15]  T. D. de Koning-Ward,et al.  Hemolytic-uremic syndrome following urinary tract infection with enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli: case report and review. , 1998, Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

[16]  Nicole T. Perna,et al.  Molecular Evolution of a Pathogenicity Island from Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 , 1998, Infection and Immunity.

[17]  James C. Paton,et al.  Pathogenesis and Diagnosis of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Infections , 1998, Clinical Microbiology Reviews.

[18]  H. Karch,et al.  EspP, a novel extracellular serine protease of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 cleaves human coagulation factor V , 1997, Molecular microbiology.

[19]  H. Karch,et al.  A gene cluster closely related to type II secretion pathway operons of gram-negative bacteria is located on the large plasmid of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 strains. , 1997, FEMS microbiology letters.

[20]  H. Karch,et al.  KatP, a novel catalase-peroxidase encoded by the large plasmid of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7. , 1996, Microbiology.

[21]  L. Beutin,et al.  Molecular analysis of the plasmid-encoded hemolysin of Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain EDL 933 , 1995, Infection and immunity.

[22]  T. McDaniel,et al.  A genetic locus of enterocyte effacement conserved among diverse enterobacterial pathogens. , 1995, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[23]  M. McKee,et al.  The role of the eae gene of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli in intimate attachment in vitro and in a porcine model. , 1993, The Journal of clinical investigation.

[24]  L. Beutin,et al.  Prevalence and some properties of verotoxin (Shiga-like toxin)-producing Escherichia coli in seven different species of healthy domestic animals , 1993, Journal of clinical microbiology.

[25]  P. Sherman,et al.  Multiple determinants of verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 attachment-effacement , 1993, Infection and immunity.

[26]  J. Wells,et al.  A Waterborne Outbreak in Missouri of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Associated with Bloody Diarrhea and Death , 1992, Annals of Internal Medicine.

[27]  J. Yu,et al.  Cloning and characterization of the eae gene of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 , 1992, Molecular microbiology.

[28]  E. A. González,et al.  Serotypes and antibiotic resistance of verotoxigenic (VTEC) and necrotizing (NTEC) Escherichia coli strains isolated from calves with diarrhoea. , 1989, FEMS microbiology letters.

[29]  C. Kerry,et al.  Shiga-like toxin converting phage of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli strain 933. , 1989, Microbial pathogenesis.

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

[31]  S. Ratnam,et al.  Characterization of Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7 , 1988, Journal of clinical microbiology.

[32]  J. Wells,et al.  Unusual verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli associated with hemorrhagic colitis , 1987, Journal of clinical microbiology.

[33]  R. Holmes,et al.  Shiga and Shiga-like toxins. , 1987, Microbiological reviews.

[34]  R. Holmes,et al.  Cloning of Shiga-like toxin structural genes from a toxin converting phage of Escherichia coli. , 1985, Science.

[35]  E. Bruck,et al.  National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. , 1980, Pediatrics.

[36]  H. Karch,et al.  Non-O157:H7 pathogenic Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli: phenotypic and genetic profiling of virulence traits and evidence for clonality. , 1999, The Journal of infectious diseases.

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

[38]  M. P. Jackson,et al.  Shiga toxin: biochemistry, genetics, mode of action, and role in pathogenesis. , 1992, Current topics in microbiology and immunology.