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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #112349
Title: HIGH PREVALENCE OF ENTEROHEMORRHAGIC E. COLI (EHEC) O157 ON HIDE SURFACES AND IN THE ORAL CAVITY OF FINISHED BEEF FEEDLOT CATTLE

Author
item Keen, James
item ELDER, ROBERT - FORMER ARS EMPLOYEE

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/14/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Objective--Determine if viable EHEC O157 can be detected on various hide surface locations & in the oral cavity (mouth) of live finished beef feedlot cattle in pens known to contain fecal EHEC O157 shedders. Design--Prevalence & within-animal distribution survey. Sample populations--Cattle (n=139) from 4 different pens in the same feedyard were esampled in summer 1999. All 4 pens contained cattle known to be fecal shedding EHEC O157 at prevalence rates between about 20 and >90%. Procedure--Seven samples were obtained aseptically from each animal: rectal feces, mouth swabs, & 5 hide surface swabs (lumbar flank, ventral neck, ventral midline [ventrum], dorsal thoracic midline [back], & distal left rear leg [hock]; 973 total samples). All samples were cultured for EHEC O157 on the day of collection using a novel hide & mouth culture & isolation method & a previously published fecal culture & isolation method. .Results--The oral cavity & hide surface of most cattle were colonized by (or contaminated with) viable EHEC O157. In general, higher hide surface & oral cavity prevalence was correlated with higher fecal prevalence. Overall site-specific EHEC O157 prevalence (in descending order) was: mouth: 74.8%; back: 73.4%; neck: 62.6%; feces: 60.4%; flank: 54.0%; ventrum: 51.1%, & hock: 41.0%. Mean hide prevalence over all 5 sites was 56.4%. Public health implications--The oral cavity, multiple hide surfaces, & feces of beef cattle can all be simultaneously colonized by or contaminated with viable EHEC O157. This data provides the first direct evidence that the hide surface & mouth of cattle, as well as feces & manure, represent potential sources of zoonotic risk as indirect vehicles of meat contamination at slaughter & as a direct vehicles of human infection by contact.