Prevalence and characterization ofEscherichia coli O157:H7 on pork carcasses and in swine colon content from provincially-licensed abattoirs in Alberta, Canada.

What is it about?

Carcass sponge samples and colon content samples were collected from 504 healthy market hogs at thirty-nine provincial licensed abattoirs (PLAs) in Alberta, Canada and analyzed for E. coli O157:H7. Carcass samples were also used for enumeration of generic E. coli and aerobic colony count. Of the 504 carcass samples, nine were confirmed positive for E. coli O157:H7 (1.8%). Of the 504 colon content samples, seven were confirmed positive for E. coli O157:H7 (1.4%). These positives were found in 12.8% of the PLAs, from hogs originating from five farms. The 16 positive E. coli O157:H7 isolates were clonal, as determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. All these strains harbored eae and hly933, and are of stx2a subtype, suggesting that swine can carry E. coli O157:H7 of importance to human health. This study provides evidence that healthy market hogs from different producers/farms in Alberta can carry E. coli O157:H7.

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