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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2003, p. 4683-4688, Vol. 69, No. 8
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.8.4683-4688.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Characterization of Escherichia coli O157:H7 from Downer and Healthy Dairy Cattle in the Upper Midwest Region of the United States

C. M. Byrne,1 I. Erol,2 J. E. Call,1 C. W. Kaspar,3,4 D. R. Buege,3 C. J. Hiemke,4 P. J. Fedorka-Cray,5 A. K. Benson,6 F. M. Wallace,1 and J. B. Luchansky1*

Microbial Food Safety Research Unit, Eastern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania 19038,1 Department of Food Hygiene and Technology, University of Ankara, Ankara, Turkey,2 Department of Animal Sciences,3 Food Microbiology and Toxicology, Food Research Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706,4 Russell Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Athens, Georgia 30600,5 Department of Food Science, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 685836

Received 15 January 2003/ Accepted 27 May 2003

While cattle in general have been identified as a reservoir of Escherichia coli O157:H7, there are limited data regarding the prevalence and clonality of this pathogen in downer dairy cattle and the potential impact to human health that may occur following consumption of meat derived from downer dairy cattle. In the present study, conducted at two slaughter facilities in Wisconsin between May and October of 2001, we established a higher prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in fecal and/or tissue samples obtained aseptically from intact colons of downer dairy cattle (10 of 203, 4.9%) than in those from healthy dairy cattle (3 of 201, 1.5%). Analyses of 57 isolates, representing these 13 positive samples (one to five isolates per sample), by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, revealed 13 distinct XbaI restriction endonuclease digestion profiles (REDP). Typically, isolates from different animals displayed distinct REDP and isolates from the same fecal or colon sample displayed indistinguishable REDP. However, in one sample, two different, but highly related, REDP were displayed by the isolates recovered. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing indicated that 10 of the 57 isolates, recovered from 2 (1 downer and 1 healthy animal) of the 13 positive samples, were resistant to at least 1 of 18 antimicrobials tested. However, there was no appreciable difference in the frequency of resistance of isolates recovered from downer and healthy dairy cattle, and not all isolates with the same REDP displayed the same antimicrobial susceptibility profile. Lastly, it was not possible to distinguish between isolates recovered from downer and healthy cattle based on their XbaI REDP or antimicrobial susceptibility. These results indicate that downer cattle had a 3.3-fold-higher prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 than healthy cattle within the time frame and geographic scope of this study.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Microbial Food Safety Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Eastern Regional Research Center, 600 East Mermaid La., Wyndmoor, PA 19038. Phone: (215) 233-6620. Fax: (215) 233-6568. E-mail: jluchansky{at}arserrc.gov.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2003, p. 4683-4688, Vol. 69, No. 8
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.8.4683-4688.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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