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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 2007, p. 1594-1603, Vol. 45, No. 5
0095-1137/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.01690-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Risk Factors for the Presence of High-Level Shedders of Escherichia coli O157 on Scottish Farms{triangledown}

Margo E. Chase-Topping,1* Iain J. McKendrick,2 Michael C. Pearce,3 Peter MacDonald,4 Louise Matthews,5 Jo Halliday,6 Lesley Allison,7 Dave Fenlon,3 J. Christopher Low,3 George Gunn,3 and Mark E. J. Woolhouse1

Centre for Infectious Diseases, University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, United Kingdom,1 Biomathematics & Statistics Scotland, University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, United Kingdom,2 Scottish Agricultural College, Animal Health Group, Research Division, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, United Kingdom,3 Department of Mathematics & Statistics, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada,4 Institute for Comparative Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom,5 Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Easter Bush, Roslin, Midlothian, United Kingdom,6 Scottish E. coli O157 Reference Laboratory, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, United Kingdom7

Received 16 August 2006/ Returned for modification 3 November 2006/ Accepted 2 March 2007

Escherichia coli O157 infections are the cause of sporadic or epidemic cases of often bloody diarrhea that can progress to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a systematic microvascular syndrome with predominately renal and neurological complications. HUS is responsible for most deaths associated with E. coli O157 infection. From March 2002 to February 2004, approximately 13,000 fecal pat samples from 481 farms with finishing/store cattle throughout Scotland were examined for the presence of E. coli O157. A total of 441 fecal pats from 91 farms tested positive for E. coli O157. From the positive samples, a point estimate for high-level shedders was identified using mixture distribution analysis on counts of E. coli O157. Models were developed based on the confidence interval surrounding this point estimate (high-level shedder, greater than 103 or greater than 104 CFU g–1 feces). The mean prevalence on high-level-shedding farms was higher than that on low-level-shedding farms. The presence of a high-level shedder on a farm was found to be associated with a high proportion of low-level shedding, consistent with the possibility of a higher level of transmission. Analysis of risk factors associated with the presence of a high-level shedder on a farm suggested the importance of the pathogen and individual host rather than the farm environment. The proportion of high-level shedders of phage 21/28 was higher than expected by chance. Management-related risk factors that were identified included the type of cattle (female breeding cattle) and cattle stress (movement and weaning), as opposed to environmental factors, such as water supply and feed.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Centre for Infectious Diseases, University of Edinburgh, Ashworth Laboratories, Kings Buildings, Edinburgh, Scotland EH9 3J5, United Kingdom. Phone: 44 (0)1316507263. E-mail: margo.chase{at}ed.ac.uk

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 14 March 2007.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 2007, p. 1594-1603, Vol. 45, No. 5
0095-1137/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.01690-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Robinson, S.E, Brown, P.E, Wright, E.J, Hart, C.A, French, N.P (2009). Quantifying within- and between-animal variation and uncertainty associated with counts of Escherichia coli O157 occurring in naturally infected cattle faeces. J R Soc Interface 6: 169-177 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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