Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Epidemiological survey on Escherichia coli O157 in Chongqing and Three-Gorge Reservoir Areas of China

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Veterinary Research Communications Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Prevalence, presence of virulence and adherence associated genes, genetic diversity, biochemical characteristics, and antibiotic susceptibility were determined for Escherichia coli O157 isolated over 4 months in Chongqing city and Three-Gorge Reservoir Areas. 11 isolates of E. coli O157 were isolated from 1504 samples and 7 of them are O157:H7 and 4 are O157:H? All O157:H7 isolates had eaeA, ehxA, EspA and Tccp genes, but did not have stx1 and stx2. All O157:H? isolates did not have stx1, stx2, eaeA, ehxA, EspA and Tccp genes except for the isolate obtained from Yunyang county which had stx1. When eaeA and ehxA presented in isolates were digested by restriction enzymes, the numbers and the sizes of the segments were the same as the control E. coli O157 strains. This suggests that eaeA and ehxA exhibit poor polymorphism. Most E. coli O157 isolates showed identical biochemical activities to the standard strains for sorbitol and rhamnose, and all E. coli O157:H7 obtained from feces at the same dairy cattle farm had similar biochemical characteristics. Antibiotic susceptibility demonstrated resistance of the isolates to penicillin, ampicillin, bacitracin, cefuroxime, erythromycin, gentamycin and tetracycline, indicating the isolates obtained in this study had a multi-drug resistance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+
from $39.99 /Month
  • Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
  • Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
  • Cancel anytime
View plans

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles, books and news in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

Abbreviations

eaeA :

attaching-and-effacing gene A subunit

EHEC:

enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli

ehxA :

enterohemolysin gene A subunit

EspA :

E. coli secreted protein A subunit

HC:

hemorrhagic colitis

HUS:

hemolytic-uremic syndrome

mEC+n:

modified E.coli broth supplemented containing 20 mgl–1 novobiocin

PCR-RFLP:

polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism

stx:

Shiga toxin

STEC:

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli

Tccp:

Tir to the actin-cytoskeleton

References

  • Besser, R. E., Lett, S. M., Weber, J. T., Doyle, M. P., Barrett, T. J., Wells, J. G., and Griffin, P. M., 1993. An outbreak of diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome from Escherichia coli O157:H7 in fresh-pressed apple cider. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 269, 2217–2220

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Boerlin, P., Chen, S., Colbourne, J. K., Johnson, R., De Grandis, S., and Gyles, C., 1998. Evolution of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli hemolysin plasmids and the locus for enterocyte effacement in Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. Infection and Immunty, 66, 2553–2561

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bonardi, S., Maggi, E., Bottarelli, A., Pacciarini, M. L., Ansuini, A., Vellini, G., Morabito, S., and Caprioli, A., 1999. Isolation of verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 from cattle at slaughter in Italy. Veterinary Microbiology, 67, 203–211

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bruce, M. G., Curtis, M. B., Payne, M. M., Gautom, R. K., Thompson, E. C., Bennett, A. L., and Kobayashi, J. M., 2003. Lake-associated outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Clark county, Washington, August 1999. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 157, 1016–1021

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, P. A., Cerdan Malo, A. T., Ellin, M., Ashton, R., and Harkin, 2001. Escherichia coli O157 in cattle and sheep at slaughter, on beef and lamb carcasses and in raw beef and lamb products in South Yorkshire, UK. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 64, 139–150

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, P. A., Wright, D. J., and Siddons, C. A., 1994. A comparison of immunomagnetic separation and direct culture for the isolation of verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 from bovine faeces. Journal of Medical Microbiology, 40, 424–427

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, S., Guo, Y., Li, S., Zhang, Y., Dong, H., Li, G., Han, X., Dong, H., Xu, B., Gong, X., Liu, X., Hao, R., Ma, X., Hou, T., Zhu, H., Jing, H., and Cheng, B., 2001. Report of epidemiological investigation on death case caused by E. coli O157 infection which was first discovered in Hebei province. Modern Preventive Medicine, 28, 169–170, 174

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • De Baets, L., Van der Taelen, I., De Filette, M., Piérard, D., Allison, L., De Greve, H., Hernalsteens, J. P., and Imberechts, H., 2004. Genetic typing of Shiga toxin 2 variants of Escherichia coli by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Applied Environmental.Microbiology, 70, 6309–6314

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dean-Nystrom, E. A., Bosworth, B. T., Moon, H. W., and O'Brien, A. D., 1998. Escherichia coli O157:H7 requires intimin for enteropathogenicity in calves. Infection and Immunty, 66, 4560–4563

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Desmarchelier, P. M., Bilge, S. S., Fegan, N., Mills, L., Vary, J. C., Jr., and Tarr, P. I., 1998. A PCR specific for Escherichia coli O157 based on the rfb locus encoding O157 lipopolysaccharide. Journal of Medical Microbiology, 36, 1801–1804

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Galland, J. C., Hyatt, D. R., Crupper, S. S., and Acheson, D. W., 2001. Prevalence, antibiotic susceptibility, and diversity of Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolates from a longitudinal study of beef cattle feedlots. Applied EnvironmentalMicrobiology, 67, 1619–1627

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gannon, V. P., D'Souza, S., Graham, T., King, R. K., Rahn, K., and Read, S., 1997. Use of the flagellar H7 gene as a target in multiplex PCR assays and improved specificity in identification of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli strains. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 35, 656–662

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Garmendia, J., Phillips, A. D., Carlier, M. F., Chong, Y., Schuller, S., Marches, O., Dahan, S., Oswald, E., Shaw, R. K., Knutton, S., and Frankel, G., 2004. Tccp is an enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 type III effector protein that couples Tir to the actin-cytoskeleton. Cellular Microbiology, 6, 1167–1183

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gong, Y., Wang, P., Liu, H., and Qiao, F., 2004. Detective and analysis on enterohemorrhagic E. coli O157:H7. Journal of Microbiology, 24, 121–122

    Google Scholar 

  • Guo, X., Shi, Z., Gu, L., Zeng, X., Li, X., Li, Y., and Wang, H., 2002. Detection of specific gene and analysis of virulent gene of E. coli O157:H7. Chinese Journal of Vector Biology and Control, 13, 450–452

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, P. S., Blom, K., Feng, P., Lewis, J., Strockbine, N. A., and Swaminathan, B., 1995. Isolation and characterization of a beta-d-glucuronidase- producing strain of Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7 in the United States. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 33, 3347–3348

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kang, S. J., Ryu, S. J., Chae, J. S., Eo, S. K., Woo, G. J., and Lee, J. H., 2004. Occurrence and characteristics of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 in calves associated with diarrhea. Veterinary Microbiology, 98, 323–328

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Karch, H., Bohm, H., Schmidt, H., Gunzer, F., Aleksic, S., and Heesemann, J., 1993. Clonal structure and pathogenicity of Shiga-like toxin-producing, sorbitol-fermenting Escherichia coli O157:H-. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 31, 1200–1205

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kaufmann, M., Zweifel, C., Blanco, M., Blanco, J. E., Blanco, J., Beutin, L., and Stephan, R., 2006. Escherichia coli O157 and non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in fecal samples of finished pigs at slaughter in Switzerland. Journal of Food Protection, 69, 260–266

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Khan, A., Das, S. C., Ramamurthy, T., Sikdar, A., Khanam, J., Yamasaki, S., Takeda, Y., and Nair, G. B., 2002. Antibiotic resistance, virulence gene, and molecular profiles of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli isolates from diverse sources in calcutta, India. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 40, 2009–2015

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li, Y., Bo, C., Chen, Q., Liu, W., and Jiang, S., 1999. Isolation of E. coli O157:H7 in Three-gorges Reservoir Area for the first time. Journal of Preventive Medicine Information, 15, 110–111

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin, J., Guo, W., Xu, H., Yang, Y., Xie, Y., and Chen, K., 2003. Preliminary study on toxic and characteristic gene of E. coli O157:H7 in Fujian, China. Strait Journal of Preventive Medicine, 9(1), 1–3

    Google Scholar 

  • Louie, M., Read, S., Simor, A. E., Holland, J., Louie, L., Ziebell, K., Brunton, J., and Hii, J., 1998. Application of multiplex PCR for detection of non-O157 verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli in bloody stools: Identification of serogroups O26 and O111. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 36, 3375–3377

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, M., Hu, W., Tao, T., and Yu, Y., 2005. Laboratory surveillance and significance of the Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Anhui province, 1999–2003. Chinese Journal of Disease Control and Prevention, 9, 441–443

    Google Scholar 

  • Ludwig, K., and Muller-Wiefel, D. E., 1998. Pathomechanisms in the haemolytic-uraemic syndrome. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, 13, 23–27

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ma, H., Zhang, J., Wang, J., Xia, S., Huang, L., Shen, G., and Wang, D., 2004. A study on the epidemic status and the gene characteristics of EHEC O157:H7 in Henan province. Henan Medical Research, 13, 116–120, 127

    Google Scholar 

  • Neves, B. C., Shaw, R. K., Frankel, G., and Knutton, S., 2003. Polymorphisms within EspA filaments of enteropathogenic and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli. Infection and Immunty, 71, 2262–2265

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ni, D., Wang, H., Gu, L., Guo, X., Zhang, L., Shi, P., Pan, H., Shi, Z., Hu, X., and Liu, G., 2002. Surveillance of Escherichia coli O157:H7 among animals in Jiangsu province in 1999. Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za.Zhi, 23, 102–104

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Omisakin, F., MacRae, M., Ogden, I. D., and Strachan, N. J., 2003. Concentration and prevalence of Escherichia coli O157 in cattle feces at slaughter. Applied Environmental Microbiology, 69, 2444–2447

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pickering, L. K., 2001. Antibiotic therapy of colitis. The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, 20, 465–466

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Riley, L. W., Remis, R. S., Helgerson, S. D., McGee, H. B., Wells, J. G., Davis, B. R., Herbert, R. J., Olcott, E. S., Johnson, L. M., Hargrett, N. T., Blake, P. A., and Cohen, M. L., 1983. Hemorrhagic colitis associated with a rare Escherichia coli serotype. The New England Journal of Medicine, 308, 681–685

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rivas, M., Miliwebsky, E., Chinen, I., Roldán, C. D., Balbi, L., García, B., Fiorilli, G., Sosa-estani, S., Kincaid, J., Rangel, J., Griffin, P. M., and the Case-Control Study Group, 2006. Characterization and epidemiologic subtyping of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli strains isolated from hemolytic uremic syndrome and diarrhea cases in Argentina. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, 3, 88–96

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Salerno, A. E., Meyers, K. E., McGowan, K. L., and Kaplan, B. S., 2004. Hemolytic uremic syndrome in a child with laboratory-acquired Escherichia coli O157:H7. Jornal de Pediatria, 145, 412–414.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandhu, K. S., Clarke, R. C., McFadden, K., Brouwer, A., Louie, M., Wilson, J., Lior, H., and Gyles, C. L., 1996. Prevalence of the eaeA gene in verotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains from dairy cattle in Southwest Ontario. Epidemiology and infection, 116, 1–7

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, H., Beutin, L., and Karch, H., 1995. Molecular analysis of the plasmid-encoded hemolysin of Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain EDL 933. Infection and Immunty, 63, 1055–1061

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schouten, J. M., Graat, E. A. M., Frankena, K., van de Giessen, A. W., van der Zwaluw, W. K., and de Jong, M. C. M., 2005. A longitudinal study of Escherichia coli O157 in cattle of a Dutch dairy farm and in the farm environment. Veterinary Microbiology, 107, 193–204

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schroeder, C. M., Zhao, C., DebRoy, C., Torcolini, J., Zhao, S., White, D. G., Wagner, D. D., McDermott, P. F., Walker, R. D., and Meng, J., 2002. Antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli O157 isolated from humans, cattle, swine and food. Applied Environmental Microbiology, 68, 576–581

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sekiya, J., 1997. Escherichia coli O157:H7 in livestock in Japan. Revue des Sciences Techniques, 16, 391–394.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, R. K., Daniell, S., Ebel, F., Frankel, G., and Knutton, S., 2001. EspA filament mediated protein translocation into red blood cells. Cellular Microbiology, 3, 213–222

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shiomi, M., Togawa, M., Fujita, K., and Murata, R., 1999. Effect of early oral fluoroquinolones in hemorrhagic colitis die to Escherichia coli O157:H7. Pediatrics International, 41, 228–232

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vali, L., Wisely, K. A., Pearce, M. C., Turner, E. J., Knight, H. I., Smith, A. W., and Amyes, S. G., 2004. High-level genotypic variation and antibiotic sensitivity among Escherichia coli O157 strains isolated from two scottish beef cattle farms. Applied Environmental Microbiology, 70, 5947–5954

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, J. S., Cheasty, T., and Jones, K., 1997. Isolation of vero cytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 from wild bird. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 82, 399–404

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, C. S., Jelacic, S., Habeeb, R. L., Watkins, S. L., and Tarr, P. I., 2000. The risk of hemolytic-uremic syndrome after antibiotic treatment of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections. The New England Journal of Medicine, 342, 1930–1936

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, J., Jing, H., Wan, M., Quan, T., Feng, B., Li, H., Zhao, G., and Xu, J., 2002. Aetiological analysis and study on E. coli O157:H7 in epidemic area. China Public Health, 18, 970–971

    Google Scholar 

  • Yilmaz, A., Gun, H., Ugur, M., Turan, N., and Yilmaz, H., 2006. Detection and frequency of VT1,VT2 and eaeA genes in Escherichia coli O157 and O157:H7 strains isolated from cattle, cattle carcasses and abattoir environment in Istanbul. International Journal Of Food Microbiology, 106, 213–217

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yu, B., Xiong, Y., Qi, X., Li, S., and Wu, K., 2004. Study on diarrhea disease caused by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Wuhan city in 2002–2003. Chinese Journal of Vector Biology and Control, 15, 463–464

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, T., Doyle, M. P., Shere, J., and Garber, L., 1995. Prevalence of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 in a survey of dairy herds. Applied Environmental.Microbiology, 61, 1290–1293

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, Y., Xu, Q., Li, G., Fan, Q., Qiu, W., Hu, Y., Yin, H., and Long, P., 2004. Isolation and identification of E. coli O157:H7 and simultaneous detection of its 3 toxin genes with multiplex PCR. Chinses Journal of Health Laboratory Technology, 14, 445–446

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, W., Xue, S., Xu, C., and Guo, X., 2005. Isolation and identif ication of Escherchia coli O157:H7 in Guangdong province. Chinese Journal of Zoonoses, 21, 147–149

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Military Phenom Foundation (MPF) grant 04J009 from Ministry of Chief Logistics of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

Hearty thanks go to the Yunyang County Animal Husbandry Bureau and Yubei Animal Husbandry Bureau Veterinarian Station for the help of fecal sample collecting.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Grazing and Domestic Grazing Animals of Chongqing, College of Animal Science and Technology, University of Southwest, Chongqing, 400715, China

    Haoju Wang & Honglei Ding

  2. Chongqing Engineering Technology Research Center of Biopharmaceuticals & Institution of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China

    Xuhu Mao & Quanming Zou

  3. Chongqing Zhengda Limited Company, Chongqing, 400021, China

    Xiao Peng

Authors
  1. Haoju Wang
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xuhu Mao
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Honglei Ding
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Quanming Zou
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Xiao Peng
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xuhu Mao.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wang, H., Mao, X., Ding, H. et al. Epidemiological survey on Escherichia coli O157 in Chongqing and Three-Gorge Reservoir Areas of China. Vet Res Commun 32, 449–461 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-008-9048-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-008-9048-8

Keywords