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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2007, p. 1563-1568, Vol. 73, No. 5
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01742-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Rectoanal Junction Colonization of Feedlot Cattle by Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Its Association with Supershedders and Excretion Dynamics{triangledown}

Rowland N. Cobbold,1* Dale D. Hancock,1 Daniel H. Rice,1,{dagger} Janice Berg,2 Robert Stilborn,2 Carolyn J. Hovde,3 and Thomas E. Besser4

Field Disease Investigation Unit, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164-6610,1 Lakeside Research, Brooks, Alberta T1R 1B7, Canada,2 Department of Microbiology, Molecular Biology, and Biochemistry, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83844-3052,3 Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164-70404

Received 25 July 2006/ Accepted 28 December 2006

Feedlot cattle were observed for fecal excretion of and rectoanal junction (RAJ) colonization with Escherichia coli O157:H7 to identify potential "supershedders." RAJ colonization and fecal excretion prevalences were correlated, and E. coli O157:H7 prevalences and counts were significantly greater for RAJ samples. Based on a comparison of RAJ and fecal ratios of E. coli O157:H7/E. coli counts, the RAJ appears to be preferentially colonized by the O157:H7 serotype. Five supershedders were identified based on persistent colonization with high concentrations of E. coli O157:H7. Cattle copenned with supershedders had significantly greater mean pen E. coli O157:H7 RAJ and fecal prevalences than noncopenned cattle. Cumulative fecal E. coli O157:H7 excretion was also significantly higher for pens housing a supershedder. E. coli O157:H7/E. coli count ratios were higher for supershedders than for other cattle, indicating greater proportional colonization. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis demonstrated that isolates from supershedders and copenned cattle were highly related. Cattle that remained negative for E. coli O157:H7 throughout sampling were five times more likely to have been in a pen that did not house a supershedder. The data from this study support an association between levels of fecal excretion of E. coli O157:H7 and RAJ colonization in pens of feedlot cattle and suggest that the presence of supershedders influences group-level excretion parameters. An improved understanding of individual and population transmission dynamics of E. coli O157:H7 can be used to develop preslaughter- and slaughter-level interventions that reduce contamination of the food chain.

* Corresponding author. Present address: School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia. Phone: 61 7 3365 2087. Fax: 61 7 3365 1355. E-mail: r.cobbold{at}uq.edu.au.

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 12 January 2006.

{dagger} Present address: Food Laboratory Division, New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Albany, NY 12235.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2007, p. 1563-1568, Vol. 73, No. 5
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01742-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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