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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Environmental Microbial & Food Safety Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #342577
Research Project: Antimicrobial Resistance and Ecology of Zoonotic Foodborne Pathogens in Dairy Cattle

Location: Environmental Microbial & Food Safety Laboratory

Title: Genome sequences of thirty Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolates recovered from a single dairy farm and its associated off-site heifer raising facility

Author
item KIM, SEON-WOO - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
item Karns, Jeffrey
item Van Kessel, Jo Ann
item Haley, Bradd

Submitted to: Genome Announcements
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/26/2017
Publication Date: 8/31/2017
Citation: Kim, S., Karns, J.S., Van Kessel, J.S., Haley, B.J. 2017. Genome sequences of thirty Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolates recovered from a single dairy farm and its associated off-site heifer raising facility. Genome Announcements. https://doi.org/10.1128/genomeA.00814-17.

Interpretive Summary: Cattle are the primary reservoirs of the human pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7, which is known to cause mild to severe and fatal gastrointestinal infections as well as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in children and elderly people. Carriage rates of this pathogen are typically low in dairy herds, but repeated isolation from cattle across the United States and the prevalence of human infections (ca. 96,000 per year) suggests more work needs to be conducted on the dynamics of this pathogen in herds. In this study we sequenced the genomes of 30 E. coli O157:H7 isolates collected from a single dairy herd and its associated off-site heifer raising operation over a 7-year period. Results of our analysis indicate that the strains isolated from this herd were highly diverse and were transmitted between lactating cows in the dairy herd and calves on the heifer raising operation. Continued research on the dynamics of pathogen transmission between dairy herds may help identify interventions that will hinder the spread of these pathogens on farms.

Technical Abstract: Cattle are the primary reservoir of Escherichia coli O157:H7, the most frequently isolated serotype of enterohemorrhagic E. coli infections among humans in North America. To evaluate the diversity of E. coli O157:H7 isolates within a single dairy herd the genomes of 30 isolates collected over a 7-year period were sequenced.