Identification of virulotypes and serotypes of enteropathogenic (EPEC) and Shigatoxigenic (STEC) Escherichia coli from healthy cattle at slaughterhouses in Wallonia.

Escherichia coli producing the attachment-effacement (AE) lesion (EPEC) and/or Shiga toxins (STEC) cause enteritis and (bloody) diarrhoea in young calves and in humans, and are also present in the intestines of healthy cattle. Besides the O157:H7 serotype, which is the main serotype causing STEC outbreaks in the world EPEC and STEC can belong to dozens of O serogroups. Of them, 9 have been frequently identified worldwide: O5, O26, O103, O104, O111, O118, O121, O145 and O165. The aim of this study is to identify the virulotypes and the O serotypes of EPEC and STEC isolated from healthy cattle a... Mehr ...