Cow’s Milk Can Transmit Verocytotoxigenic E. coli 0111
Abstract & Commentary
By Joseph F. John, Jr., MD, Chief, Medical Subspecialty Services, Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Administration Medical Center, Professor of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, is Associate Editor for Infectious Disease Alert
Synopsis: E. coli O111 isolates colonizing the cattle were indistinguishable from the patient isolate by the use of serotyping, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and virulence profiling.
Source: Moller Nielsen E, et al. Evidence of Transmission of Verocytotoxin-Producing Escherichia coli 0111 From a Cattle Stable to a Child. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2005:11:767-770.
It is well known that cows may be the source of verocytotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC) that is serotype 0157. Proof of a bovine connection for other serotypes of VTEC is lacking. This current report described a 16-month-old girl who played in a stable and drank raw milk from the cattle in the stable, some of which are described as "organic cattle". The girl had 10 days of non-bloody diarrhea, although she was previously healthy. After an O111 serotype was recovered from the child, fecal samples were obtained from 9 calves and 3 milking cows. Three O111-positive E. coli were isolated from the cattle and were identical to the pulse-field type of the child. Additionally, a set of genes responsible for virulence factors in VTEC were identical in the isolates from the cattle and from the girl (vtxl, eae-O, schA, espP, katP).
Commentary
This case study proves that non-0157 isolates of VTEC can have a zoonotic origin. Direct contact with feces and, in this case, milk, of cattle being raised organically, may result in infection with non-0157 strains. Nielsen and colleagues went to great lengths to characterize the isolates by molecular means, thereby presenting a very convincing case of the zoonotic link. Children historically are particularly susceptible to VTEC, so parents have to be careful about the habitats children may frequent where VTEC including non-O157 types may be lurking.
It is well known that cows may be the source of verocytotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC) that is serotype 0157. Proof of a bovine connection for other serotypes of VTEC is lacking.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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