Occurrence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in Brazil and its public health importance
Keywords:
Escherichia coli, STEC, Shiga toxin, Animals, Foods, HumanAbstract
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is a pathogenic bacterium
involved in outbreaks of foodborne illness, becoming a major public health
challenge. This study aimed to report the occurrence of STEC in Brazil and its
importance in public health, through a retrospective study that tried this pathogen
laboratory findings in reports involving animals, foods and humans. The
positivity of STEC in cattle assessed in studies ranged from 1.4 to 71%. Non-
O157 strains were predominant in all states, and the O157:H7 isolated from
animals in the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Paraná. In the state of São
Paulo was isolated from 16 serotypes not found in other states. The positivity of
STEC in different animal food sources, and water for human consumption from
the state of São Paulo, Tocantins and Rio Grande do Sul ranged from 0 to 18.1%,
observing 7 different serotypes. STEC O157: H7 was isolated from ground beef
in São Paulo-SP. The positivity of STEC from the few studies in humans in
Brazil, restricted to the states of São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul, demonstrated
levels of isolation between 0.6 and 6.3%, 10 different serotypes were isolated,
predominantly O111:NM. Although the incidence of human infection with
STEC in Brazil is relatively low, we observed a high prevalence of these bacteria
in cattle and sheep, and the correlation of serotypes isolated from animals with
food and human isolates. Therefore the importance of good handling practices of
the producer and the consumer to prevent possible food contamination.
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Copyright (c) 2013 Marielle Caldorin, Ivete Aparecida Zago Castanheira de Almeida, Jacqueline Tanury Macruz Peresi, Elisabete Cardiga Alves
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