Prevalence and Epidemiology of Non-O157 Escherichia coli Serogroups O26, O103, O111, and O145 and Shiga Toxin Gene Carriage in Scottish Cattle, 2014–2015
Deborah V. Hoyle, Marianne Keith, Helen Williamson, Kareen Macleod, Heather Mathie, Ian Handel, Carol Currie, Anne Holmes, Lesley Allison, Rebecca McLean, Rebecca Callaby, Thibaud Porphyre, Sue C. Tongue, Madeleine K. Henry, J A Evans, George J. Gunn, David L. Gally, Nuno Silva, Margo Chase‐Topping
Abstract
(STEC), bacteria shed in animal feces. Humans are infected through consumption of contaminated food or water and by direct contact, resulting in serious disease and kidney failure in the most vulnerable. The contribution of non-O157 serogroups to STEC illness was underestimated for many years due to the lack of specific tests. Recently, non-O157 human cases have increased, with O26 STEC of particular note. It is therefore vital to investigate the level and composition of non-O157 in the cattle reservoir and to compare them historically and by the clinical situation. In this study, we found cattle prevalence high for toxin, as well as for O103 and O26 serogroups. Pathogenic O26 STEC were isolated from 14% of study herds, with toxin subtypes similar to those seen in Scottish clinical cases. This study highlights the current risk to public health from non-O157 STEC in Scottish cattle.