This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Blanco, M.
Right arrow Articles by Blanco, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Blanco, M.
Right arrow Articles by Blanco, J.

Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 2003, p. 1351-1356, Vol. 41, No. 4
0095-1137/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.41.4.1351-1356.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Serotypes, Virulence Genes, and Intimin Types of Shiga Toxin (Verotoxin)-Producing Escherichia coli Isolates from Healthy Sheep in Spain

M. Blanco,1 J. E. Blanco,1 A. Mora,1 J. Rey,2 J. M. Alonso,2 M. Hermoso,2 J. Hermoso,2 M. P. Alonso,1,3 G. Dahbi,1 E. A. González,1 M. I. Bernárdez,1 and J. Blanco1*

Laboratorio de Referencia de E. coli, Departamento de Microbioloxía e Parasitoloxía, Facultade de Veterinaria, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo,1 Patología Infecciosa, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Extremadura, Cáceres,2 Unidade de Microbioloxía, Complexo Hospitalario Xeral-Calde, 27004 Lugo, Spain3

Received 21 October 2002/ Returned for modification 15 December 2002/ Accepted 13 January 2003

Fecal swabs obtained from 1,300 healthy lambs in 93 flocks in Spain in 1997 were examined for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC). STEC O157:H7 strains were isolated from 5 (0.4%) animals in 4 flocks, and non-O157 STEC strains were isolated from 462 (36%) lambs in 63 flocks. A total of 384 ovine STEC strains were characterized in this study. PCR showed that 213 (55%) strains carried the stx1 gene, 10 (3%) possessed the stx2 gene, and 161 (42%) carried both the stx1 and the stx2 genes. Enterohemolysin (ehxA) and intimin (eae) virulence genes were detected in 106 (28%) and 23 (6%) of the STEC strains, respectively. The STEC strains belonged to 35 O serogroups and 64 O:H serotypes (including 18 new serotypes). However, 72% were of 1 of the following 12 serotypes: O5:H-, O6:H10, O91:H-, O117:H-, O128:H-, O128:H2, O136:H20, O146:H8, O146:H21, O156:H-, O166:H28, and ONT:H21 (where NT is nontypeable). Although the 384 STEC strains belonged to 95 different seropathotypes (associations between serotypes and virulence genes), 49% of strains belonged to only 11. O91:H- stx1 stx2 (54 strains) was the most common seropathotype, followed by O128:H- stx1 stx2 (33 strains) and O6:H10 stx1 (25 strains). Three strains of serotypes O26:H11, O156:H11, and OX177:H11 had intimin type ß1; 5 strains of serotype O157:H7 possessed intimin type {gamma}1; and 15 strains of serotypes O49:H-, O52:H12, O156:H- (12 strains), and O156:H25 had the new intimin, intimin type {zeta}. The majority (82%) of ovine STEC strains belonged to serotypes previously found to be associated with human STEC strains, and 51% belonged to serotypes associated with STEC strains isolated from patients with hemolytic-uremic syndrome. Thus, this study confirms that healthy sheep are a major reservoir of STEC strains pathogenic for humans.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratorio de Referencia de E. coli, Departamento de Microbioloxía e Parasitoloxía, Facultade de Veterinaria, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), Campus de Lugo, 27002 Lugo, Spain. Phone and fax: 34-982-285936. E-mail: jba{at}lugo.usc.es.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 2003, p. 1351-1356, Vol. 41, No. 4
0095-1137/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.41.4.1351-1356.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Sanchez, S., Martinez, R., Garcia, A., Blanco, J., Blanco, J. E., Blanco, M., Dahbi, G., Lopez, C., Mora, A., Rey, J., Alonso, J. M. (2009). Longitudinal Study of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Shedding in Sheep Feces: Persistence of Specific Clones in Sheep Flocks. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 1769-1773 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Majalija, S., Segal, H., Ejobi, F., Elisha, B. G. (2008). Shiga Toxin Gene-Containing Escherichia coli from Cattle and Diarrheic Children in the Pastoral Systems of Southwestern Uganda. J. Clin. Microbiol. 46: 352-354 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ishii, S., Meyer, K. P., Sadowsky, M. J. (2007). Relationship between Phylogenetic Groups, Genotypic Clusters, and Virulence Gene Profiles of Escherichia coli Strains from Diverse Human and Animal Sources. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 5703-5710 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Gyles, C. L. (2007). Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli: An overview. J ANIM SCI 85: E45-E62 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Aktan, I., La Ragione, R. M., Woodward, M. J. (2007). Colonization, Persistence, and Tissue Tropism of Escherichia coli O26 in Conventionally Reared Weaned Lambs. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 691-698 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Grotiuz, G., Sirok, A., Gadea, P., Varela, G., Schelotto, F. (2006). Shiga Toxin 2-Producing Acinetobacter haemolyticus Associated with a Case of Bloody Diarrhea.. J. Clin. Microbiol. 44: 3838-3841 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Blanco, M., Blanco, J. E., Dahbi, G., Mora, A., Alonso, M. P., Varela, G., Gadea, M. P., Schelotto, F., Gonzalez, E. A., Blanco, J. (2006). Typing of intimin (eae) genes from enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) isolated from children with diarrhoea in Montevideo, Uruguay: identification of two novel intimin variants ({micro}B and {xi}R/{beta}2B).. J Med Microbiol 55: 1165-1174 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ferens, W. A., Cobbold, R., Hovde, C. J. (2006). Intestinal Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Bacteria Mitigate Bovine Leukemia Virus Infection in Experimentally Infected Sheep.. Infect. Immun. 74: 2906-2916 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Garrido, P., Blanco, M., Moreno-Paz, M., Briones, C., Dahbi, G., Blanco, J., Blanco, J., Parro, V. (2006). STEC-EPEC Oligonucleotide Microarray: A New Tool for Typing Genetic Variants of the LEE Pathogenicity Island of Human and Animal Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) Strains. Clin. Chem. 52: 192-201 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mora, A., Blanco, M., Blanco, J. E., Alonso, M. P., Dhabi, G., Thomson-Carter, F., Usera, M. A., Bartolome, R., Prats, G., Blanco, J. (2004). Phage Types and Genotypes of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 Isolates from Humans and Animals in Spain: Identification and Characterization of Two Predominating Phage Types (PT2 and PT8). J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 4007-4015 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Muniesa, M., Blanco, J. E., de Simon, M., Serra-Moreno, R., Blanch, A. R., Jofre, J. (2004). Diversity of stx2 converting bacteriophages induced from Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli strains isolated from cattle. Microbiology 150: 2959-2971 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Djordjevic, S. P., Ramachandran, V., Bettelheim, K. A., Vanselow, B. A., Holst, P., Bailey, G., Hornitzky, M. A. (2004). Serotypes and Virulence Gene Profiles of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Feces of Pasture-Fed and Lot-Fed Sheep. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 3910-3917 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Beutin, L., Krause, G., Zimmermann, S., Kaulfuss, S., Gleier, K. (2004). Characterization of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Human Patients in Germany over a 3-Year Period. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 1099-1108 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Blanco, M., Blanco, J. E., Blanco, J., de Carvalho, V. M., Onuma, D. L., de Castro, A. F. P. (2004). Typing of Intimin (eae) Genes in Attaching and Effacing Escherichia coli Strains from Monkeys. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 1382-1383 [Full Text]  
  • Blanco, M., Blanco, J. E., Mora, A., Dahbi, G., Alonso, M. P., Gonzalez, E. A., Bernardez, M. I., Blanco, J. (2004). Serotypes, Virulence Genes, and Intimin Types of Shiga Toxin (Verotoxin)-Producing Escherichia coli Isolates from Cattle in Spain and Identification of a New Intimin Variant Gene (eae-{xi}). J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 645-651 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Blanco, J. E., Blanco, M., Alonso, M. P., Mora, A., Dahbi, G., Coira, M. A., Blanco, J. (2004). Serotypes, Virulence Genes, and Intimin Types of Shiga Toxin (Verotoxin)-Producing Escherichia coli Isolates from Human Patients: Prevalence in Lugo, Spain, from 1992 through 1999. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 311-319 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Muehlherr, J. E., Zweifel, C., Corti, S., Blanco, J. E., Stephan, R. (2003). Microbiological Quality of Raw Goat's and Ewe's Bulk-Tank Milk in Switzerland. J DAIRY SCI 86: 3849-3856 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»