Bovine non-O157 Shiga toxin 2-containing Escherichia coli isolates commonly possess stx2-EDL933 and/or stx2vhb subtypes

Authors

Kim Brett, University of Wollongong
Michael A Hornitzky, Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute
Karl A Bettelheim, University of Melbourne
Mark J. Walker, University of WollongongFollow
Steven Djordjevic, Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute

RIS ID

9912

Publication Details

Brett, K. N., Hornitzky, M. A., Bettelheim, K. A., Walker, M. J. & Djordjevic, S. P. (2003). Bovine non-O157 Shiga toxin 2-containing Escherichia coli isolates commonly possess stx2-EDL933 and/or stx2vhb subtypes. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 41 (6), 2716-2722.

Abstract

stx₂ genes from 138 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) isolates, of which 127 were of bovine origin (58 serotypes) and 11 of human origin (one serotype; O113:H21), were subtyped. The bovine STEC isolates from Australian cattle carried ehxA and/or eaeA and predominantly possessed stx_2-EDL933 (103 of 127; 81.1%) either in combination with stx_2vhb (32 of 127; 25.2%) or on its own (52 of 127; 40.4%). Of 22 (90.9%) bovine isolates of serotype O113:H21, a serotype increasingly recovered from patients with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) or hemorrhagic colitis, 20 contained both stx_2-EDL933 and stx_2vhb; 2 isolates contained stx_2vhb only. Although 7 of 11 (63.6%) human O113:H21 isolates associated with diarrhea possessed stx_2-EDL933, the remaining 4 isolates possessed a combination of stx_2-EDL933 and stx_2vhb. Three of the four were from separate sporadic cases of HUS, and one was from an unknown source.