Escherichia coli O157:H7 Cluster Associated With Deer Harvested at a Single Wildlife Hunting Area, Oregon, 2017

2021 ◽  
pp. 003335492110461
Author(s):  
Stephen G. Ladd-Wilson ◽  
Karim Morey ◽  
Lauren Turpen ◽  
Kara DeMarco ◽  
Gary Van Der Veen ◽  
...  

The Oregon Health Authority routinely investigates clusters of reportable enteric diseases identified by whole-genome sequencing. While investigating 2 cases of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in 2019, in which both patients were exposed to the same home-processed “jerky” and clinical isolates matched within 2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we discovered, by searching the National Library of Medicine’s National Center for Biotechnology Information website, 3 other cases of E coli O157:H7 from 3 Oregon counties—Tillamook, Umatilla, and Douglas—whose clinical isolates were within 9 SNPs of the 2 initial matched cases. We analyzed interview data for 3 case patients and followed up with additional hypothesis-generating questions. Onset of illness for the Tillamook, Umatilla, and Douglas county cases were October 7, 2017, October 27, 2017, and April 30, 2018, respectively. The median age of the 5 case patients was 16 years. Parents of 2 of the 5 case patients, each from a different county, had harvested deer approximately 20 miles from each other in the same Douglas County wildlife hunting unit in late September 2017. The case from Umatilla County was lost to follow-up. Although it is well documented that deer are a viable and substantial reservoir of E coli O157:H7, to our knowledge, this is the first time that venison from a common wildlife hunting unit was found to be associated with a cluster of illnesses. This finding suggests a geographic nidus for E coli O157:H7. We recommend routinely asking about wildlife hunting units when developing exposure hypotheses involving potential venison-associated clusters.

2005 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 2746-2752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasia Koutsolioutsou ◽  
Samuel Peña-Llopis ◽  
Bruce Demple

ABSTRACT The soxRS regulon of Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica is induced by redox-cycling compounds or nitric oxide and provides resistance to superoxide-generating agents, macrophage-generated nitric oxide, antibiotics, and organic solvents. We have previously shown that constitutive expression of soxRS can contribute to quinolone resistance in clinically relevant S. enterica. In this work, we have carried out an analysis of the mechanism of constitutive soxS expression and its role in antibiotic resistance in E. coli clinical isolates. We show that constitutive soxS expression in three out of six strains was caused by single point mutations in the soxR gene. The mutant SoxR proteins contributed to the multiple-antibiotic resistance phenotypes of the clinical strains and were sufficient to confer multiple-antibiotic resistance in a fresh genetic background. In the other three clinical isolates, we observed, for the first time, that elevated soxS expression was not due to mutations in soxR. The mechanism of such increased soxS expression remains unclear. The same E. coli clinical isolates harbored polymorphic soxR and soxS DNA sequences, also seen for the first time.


2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (7) ◽  
pp. 1873-1879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Indira T. Kudva ◽  
Peter S. Evans ◽  
Nicole T. Perna ◽  
Timothy J. Barrett ◽  
Frederick M. Ausubel ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli O157:H7 (O157) strains demonstrate varied pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns following XbaI digestion, which enable epidemiological surveillance of this important human pathogen. The genetic events underlying PFGE differences between strains, however, are not defined. We investigated the mechanisms for strain variation in O157 by recovering and examining nucleotide sequences flanking each of the XbaI restriction enzyme sites in the genome. Our analysis demonstrated that differences between O157 strains were due to discrete insertions or deletions that contained the XbaI sites polymorphic between strains rather than single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the XbaI sites themselves. These insertions and deletions were found to be uniquely localized within the regions of the genome that are specific to O157 compared to E. coli K-12 (O islands), suggesting that strain-to-strain variation occurs in these O islands. These results may be utilized to devise novel strain-typing tools for this pathogen.


2007 ◽  
Vol 75 (7) ◽  
pp. 3325-3334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Holden ◽  
Makrina Totsika ◽  
Lynn Dixon ◽  
Kirsteen Catherwood ◽  
David L. Gally

ABSTRACT Adherence of uropathogenic Escherichia coli to host tissue is required for infection and is mediated by fimbriae, such as pyelonephritis-associated pili (Pap). Expression of P fimbriae is regulated by phase variation, and to date, phase transition frequencies have been measured only for pap regulatory region constructs integrated into the E. coli K-12 chromosome. The aim of this work was to measure P phase transition frequencies in clinical isolates for the first time, including frequencies for the sequenced strain E. coli CFT073. P fimbriation and associated phase transition frequencies were measured for two E. coli clinical isolates and compared with levels for homologous pap constructs in E. coli K-12. Fimbriation and off-to-on transition frequencies were always higher in the clinical isolate. It was concluded that the regulatory inputs controlling papI expression are likely to be different in E. coli CFT073 and E. coli K-12 as (i) phase variation could be stimulated in E. coli K-12 by induction of papI and (ii) the level of expression of a papI::gfp + fusion was higher in E. coli CFT073 than in E. coli K-12. Furthermore, phase transition frequencies for the two E. coli CFT073 pap clusters were shown to be different depending on the culture conditions, indicating that there is a hierarchy of expression depending on signal inputs.


2008 ◽  
Vol 76 (11) ◽  
pp. 5062-5071 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfredo G. Torres ◽  
Terry M. Slater ◽  
Shilpa D. Patel ◽  
Vsevolod L. Popov ◽  
Margarita M. P. Arenas-Hernández

ABSTRACT The expression of the long polar fimbriae (LPF) of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 is controlled by a tightly regulated process, and, therefore, the role of these fimbriae during binding to epithelial cells has been difficult to establish. We recently found that histone-like nucleoid-structuring protein (H-NS) binds to the regulatory sequence of the E. coli O157:H7 lpf1 operon and “silences” its transcription, while Ler inhibits the action of the H-NS protein and allows lpf1 to be expressed. In the present study, we determined how the deregulated expression of LPF affects binding of EHEC O157:H7 to tissue-cultured cells, correlating the adherence phenotype with lpf1 expression. We tested the adherence properties of EHEC hns mutant and found that this strain adhered 2.8-fold better than the wild type. In contrast, the EHEC ler mutant adhered 2.1-fold less than the wild type. The EHEC hns ler mutant constitutively expressed the lpf genes, and, therefore, we observed that the double mutant adhered 5.6-fold times better than the wild type. Disruption of lpfA in the EHEC hns and hns ler mutants or the addition of anti-LpfA serum caused a reduction in adhesion, demonstrating that the increased adherence was due to the expression of LPF. Immunogold-labeling electron microscopy showed that LPF is present on the surface of EHEC lpfA + strains. Furthermore, we showed that EHEC expressing LPF agglutinates red blood cells from different species and that the agglutination was blocked by the addition of anti-LpfA serum. Overall, our data confirmed that expression of LPF is a tightly regulated process and, for the first time, demonstrated that these fimbriae are associated with adherence and hemagglutination phenotypes in EHEC O157:H7.


2006 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 671-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Besser ◽  
Nurmohammad Shaikh ◽  
Nicholas J. Holt ◽  
Phillip I. Tarr ◽  
Michael E. Konkel ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli O157:H7, a zoonotic human pathogen for which domestic cattle are a reservoir host, produces a Shiga toxin(s) (Stx) encoded by bacteriophages. Chromosomal insertion sites of these bacteriophages define three principal genotypes (clusters 1 to 3) among clinical isolates of E. coli O157:H7. Stx-encoding bacteriophage insertion site genotypes of 282 clinical and 80 bovine isolates were evaluated. A total of 268 (95.0%) of the clinical isolates, but only 41 (51.3%) of the bovine isolates, belonged to cluster 1, 2, or 3 (P < 0.001). Thirteen additional genotypes were identified in isolates from both cattle and humans (four genotypes), from only cattle (seven genotypes), or from only humans (two genotypes). Two other markers previously associated with isolates from cattle or with clinical isolates showed similar associations with genotype groups within bovine isolates; the tir allele sp-1 and the Q 933W allele were under- and overrepresented, respectively, among cluster 1 to 3 genotypes. Stx-encoding bacteriophage insertion site typing demonstrated that there is broad genetic diversity of E. coli O157:H7 in the bovine reservoir and that numerous genotypes are significantly underrepresented among clinical isolates, consistent with the possibility that there is reduced virulence or transmissibility to humans of some bovine E. coli O157:H7 genotypes.


2011 ◽  
Vol 55 (9) ◽  
pp. 4443-4446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène Guillon ◽  
Didier Tande ◽  
Hedi Mammeri

ABSTRACTEscherichia coliisolate MEV, responsible for a bloodstream infection, was resistant to penicillins, cephalosporins, and ertapenem. Molecular and biochemical characterization revealed the production of a novel, chromosome-borne, extended-spectrum AmpC (ESAC) β-lactamase with a Ser-282 duplication and increased carbapenemase activity. This study demonstrates for the first time that chromosome-borne ESAC β-lactamases can contribute to the emergence of ertapenem resistance inE. coliclinical isolates.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Edwards ◽  
Eva Heinz ◽  
Jon van Aartsen ◽  
Alex Howard ◽  
Paul Roberts ◽  
...  

AbstractResistance to piperacillin/tazobactam in Escherichia coli is usually mediated by mechanisms providing resistance to 3rd generation cephalosporins, such as extended-spectrum β-lactamases and carbapenemases. Recent reports have identified E. coli strains with resistance to piperacillin/tazobactam but susceptibility to 3rd generation cephalosporins, achieved through hyperproduction of penicillinases, but the genetic diversity of this phenotype and the diversity of resistance mechanisms are unknown. We analysed the genomes of 63 clinical isolates of E. coli with this phenotype, isolated between 2014-2017 at a single tertiary hospital in Liverpool, UK. The phenotype was displayed in a broad range of sequence types which, after comparison with a UK-wide collection, reflected the overall diversity of E. coli clinical isolates. Resistance mechanisms were also diverse, and included predicted hyperproduction of penicillinases, either via strong promoters or gene amplification, carriage of inhibitor resistant β-lactamases, and an S133G blaCTX-M-15 mutation detected for the first time in clinical isolates.


2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (20) ◽  
pp. 7151-7164 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Hal Jones ◽  
Margareta Tuckman ◽  
Ellen Murphy ◽  
Patricia A. Bradford

ABSTRACT The presence of the tetracycline resistance determinant tet(M) in human clinical isolates of Escherichia coli is described for the first time in this report. The homologue was >99% identical to the tet(M) genes reported to occur in Lactobacillus plantarum, Neisseria meningitidis, and Streptococcus agalactiae, and 3% of the residues in its deduced amino acid sequence diverge from tet(M) of Staphylococcus aureus. Sequence analysis of the regions immediately flanking the gene revealed that sequences upstream of tet(M) in E. coli have homology to Tn916; however, a complete IS26 insertion element was present immediately upstream of the promoter element. Downstream from the termination codon is an insertion sequence that was homologous to the ISVs1 element reported to occur in a plasmid from Vibrio salmonicida that has been associated with another tetracycline resistance determinant, tet(E). Results of mating experiments demonstrated that the E. coli tet(M) gene was on a mobile element so that resistance to tetracycline and minocycline could be transferred to a susceptible strain by conjugation. Expression of the cloned tet(M) gene, under the control of its own promoter, provided tetracycline and minocycline resistance to the E. coli host.


2006 ◽  
Vol 50 (12) ◽  
pp. 4224-4228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Philippe Lavigne ◽  
Hélène Marchandin ◽  
Julien Delmas ◽  
Nicole Bouziges ◽  
Evelyne Lecaillon ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT By PCR, we screened for qnr genes 112 clinical isolates of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli collected from hospitals in France during 2004. For the first time, 7.7% of CTX-M-producing E. coli isolates presented a plasmid-mediated resistance to quinolones. All strains harbored a qnrA gene located on a sul1-type class 1 integron with similar structure to the In36 integron.


2013 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 318-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
SANGEETHA ANANDA BASKARAN ◽  
VARUNKUMAR BHATTARAM ◽  
INDU UPADHYAYA ◽  
ABHINAV UPADHYAY ◽  
ANUP KOLLANOOR-JOHNY ◽  
...  

Two naturally occurring, generally recognized as safe compounds, namely, caprylic acid (CA) (1%) and β-resorcylic acid (BR) (1%), and their combination, applied at 23 and 60°C were evaluated for their antimicrobial effects against Escherichia coli O157:H7 on cattle hides in the presence and absence of bovine feces. Fresh cleaned cattle hides were cut into pieces (5 cm2), air dried, and inoculated with a five-strain mixture of nalidixic acid–resistant (50 μg/ml) E. coli O157:H7 (~8.0 log CFU). The hide samples were air dried under a biosafety hood for 2 h and sprayed with 95% ethanol, 1% CA, 1% BR, or a mixture of 1% CA and 1% BR at 23 or 60°C. The hide samples were kept at 23°C, and E. coli O157:H7 populations were determined at 2 and 5 min after treatment. Both CA and BR were effective in decreasing E. coli O157:H7 populations on hides by 3 to 4 log CFU/cm2 (P &lt; 0.05). Sterile bovine feces had no effect on the decontaminating property of CA and BR on cattle hides (P &gt; 0.05). Results of this study indicate that CA and BR could potentially be used to decontaminate cattle hides, but follow-up research under slaughterhouse conditions is warranted.


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