Characterisation of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) associated with colisepticaemia compared to faecal isolates from healthy birds

A total of 114 avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) isolates were collected from cases of colisepticaemia occurring in broilers (77) and layers (37) within Ireland. In addition 45 strains isolated from faeces of healthy birds were included for comparison. All isolates were serogrouped, and examined for known virulence factors, mostly by PCR. The O78 serogroup represented 55 and 27% of broiler and layer colisepticaemic isolates respectively. All isolates were positive for curli fimbriae (crl, csg) and negative for afimbrial adhesin (afa). S-fimbrial (sfa) sequences were present in 8.8% of septicaemic isolates and 8.9% of healthy bird isolates. The majority of E. coli from cases of colisepticaemia (97.4%) and healthy bird (95.6%) isolates were positive for aerobactin (aer), and temperature sensitive haemagglutinin (tsh) was similarly detected in high numbers in 93.9 and 93.3%, respectively. In comparison to E. coli isolates from the faeces of healthy birds, a significantly higher percentage of isolates from septicaemic cases possessed Type 1 fimbriae (fimC) and increased serum survival (iss) gene sequences. Forty-seven (41.2%) isolates from septicaemic birds possessed P-fimbriae (pap) gene sequences, compared with only 15.6% from E. coli isolated from healthy birds. Haemolysin (hlyE) sequences were detected in 46.7% of isolates from healthy birds in comparison with 6.1% of septicaemic isolates. Sequences encoding colicin V (cvaC) were detected in 99.1% of septicaemic isolates and 82.2% of isolates from healthy birds. The K1 capsule was only present in two septicaemic isolates, both taken from layers. Motility was detected in 36.8% of E. coli isolated from cases of septicaemia, compared with 93.3% of isolates from healthy birds. These results demonstrate the presence of 11 virulence genes in E. coli isolated from cases of colisepticaemia within Ireland, and indicate the prevalence of iss and fimC.     

京津冀部分地区致犊牛腹泻大肠杆菌毒力基因、耐药基因检测及药物敏感性分析

【目的】探明京津冀地区犊牛腹泻大肠杆菌毒力基因与耐药基因流行情况,筛选敏感药物。【方法】于2020年12月至2021年7月从京津冀地区部分牛场采集146份犊牛腹泻样本,通过细菌分离纯化、革兰氏染色镜检及16S rRNA测序进行大肠杆菌分离鉴定;采用PCR方法对分离菌进行毒力基因（F17、K99、F41、STa、stx1、irp2和fyuA基因）和耐药基因（aac（6'）-Ⅰb、bla_CTX-M、bla_TEM、OqxB、tetA和sul1基因）检测;采用K-B纸片法进行药物敏感性试验。【结果】分离菌在鉴别培养基上的生长形态及革兰氏染色镜检结果均符合大肠杆菌生理生化特性,分离菌16S rRNA测序结果呈单一峰值,对拼接序列在NCBI中进行BLAST比对后发现,与大肠杆菌相似性均>96%,确定分离菌为大肠杆菌。试验共分离鉴定大肠杆菌142株,其中有88株携带毒力基因,占61.97%（88/142）,毒力基因F17、K99、F41、STa、stx1、irp2、fyuA阳性率分别为24.65%、0.70%、0、2.11%、1.41%、45.07%和21.83%,其中F17、irp2、fyuA为优势毒力因子,同时携带多重毒力因子的大肠杆菌检出率较低。aac（6'）-Ⅰb、bla_CTX-M、bla_TEM、OqxB、tetA和sul1 6种耐药基因皆被检出,bla_TEM基因检出率最高,为45.77%,aac（6'）-Ⅰb和OqxB基因检出率最低,均为9.15%,分离菌株主要携带1~3种耐药基因。药物敏感性试验结果显示,142株分离菌对诺氟沙星敏感率最高,其次为环丙沙星,对青霉素敏感率为0,耐药现象严重,耐2种以上抗菌药物的菌株达86.62%。【结论】京津冀地区犊牛腹泻大肠杆菌毒力基因与耐药基因流行广泛,耐药普遍,多重耐药现象严重。本研究可为京津冀地区犊牛腹泻的防治提供理论依据。     

同一养殖模式下不同地区猪源大肠杆菌耐药性比较

本试验旨在比较新疆相同养殖模式下不同地区猪源大肠杆菌的耐药情况。分别在某规模化养猪场呼图壁(207份)、玛纳斯(210份)和昌吉(210份)地区采集粪样,共计627份样品,各地区猪源大肠杆菌的分离率均为100.0%。采用微量肉汤稀释法对分离出的大肠杆菌进行临床常用抗菌药物的药敏试验,并通过卡方检验比较3个地区猪源大肠杆菌耐药率的差异。结果显示,呼图壁地区猪源大肠杆菌对安普霉素、阿米卡星、阿莫西林—克拉维酸和头孢噻呋的耐药率均极显著高于另外两地区(P< 0.01);玛纳斯地区猪源大肠杆菌对环丙沙星的耐药率显著高于另外两地区(P< 0.05),对诺氟沙星的耐药率极显著高于另外两地区(P< 0.01);昌吉地区猪源大肠杆菌对诺氟沙星的耐药率极显著高于呼图壁地区(P< 0.01),而对阿莫西林—克拉维酸和氨苄西林的耐药率均显著高于玛纳斯地区(P< 0.05)。呼图壁地区3~8耐菌株占94.7%,玛纳斯地区3~7耐菌株占89.5%,昌吉地区4~8耐菌株占82.4%。不同地区之间3~7耐菌株数差异不显著(P> 0.05)。结果表明,在相同的养殖模式下,不同地区猪源大肠杆菌的耐药情况不同。此外,养殖场猪源大肠杆菌的耐药问题严重,以多药耐药为主,耐药谱型呈多样化。     

Comparison of Drug Resistance of E.coli from Pigs in Different Regions under the Same Breeding Mode

In order to compare the resistance of E.coli from pigs of different regions under same breeding mode in Xinjiang, we collected fecal samples from pig farms of Hutubi (207), Manasi (210) and Changji (210) in a certain scale, respectively, a total of 627 samples, and isolation rate of E.coli from fecal samples were all 100.0%.The broth dilution method was used to detect resistance of E.coli to antimicrobials, and we compared the differences of resistance rate of E.coli from pig farms in three regions by chi square test. E.coli from pig farms of Hutubi region to apramycin, amikacin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and ceftiofur existed extremely significant differences comparing with another two regions (P< 0.01).E.coli from pig farms of Manasi region to ciprofloxacin existed significant differences comparing with another two regions (P< 0.05), and existed extremely significant differences to norfloxacin (P< 0.01).E.coli from pig farms of Changji region to norfloxacin had extremely significant differences comparing with Hutubi region (P< 0.01), and existed significant differences to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and ampicillin comparing with Manasi region (P< 0.05).3 to 8 resistant E.coli strains accounted for 94.7% in Hutubi region, 3 to 7 resistant E.coli strains accounted for 89.5% in Manasi region and 4 to 8 resistant E.coli strains accounted for 82.4% in Changji region, respectively.There was no significant difference among different regions on multi-drug resistance (P> 0.05).The results indicated that E.coli from pigs of different regions under the same breeding mode had different characteristics of resistance.In addition, the resistance of E.coli from pigs were very serious and mainly multi-drug resistant, drug resistance patterns were diversified.     

六十二株水貂源大肠杆菌分离株耐药表型与耐药基因及克隆菌群分析

为了调查诸城地区某水貂养殖场粪便源大肠杆菌的表观及其分子特征,采集某个水貂养殖场的水貂粪便进行大肠杆菌分离鉴定,对分离鉴定的大肠杆菌进行血清型鉴定和对14种常见抗菌药物的耐药表型鉴定;使用PCR检测耐药基因以及Ⅰ整合子基因盒的携带情况,利用多位点序列分型（MLST）来分析菌株的克隆关系并构建系统发育树来分析相同克隆群菌株的遗传相似性。结果显示,自82份水貂粪便样品分离到62株大肠杆菌,分离率75.61%;大肠杆菌分离株对AMP和TET的耐药率超过90%,多重耐药菌株（MDR）占比为85.48%。PCR检测到5类耐药基因的存在,qnrS检出率最高,为61.29%（38/62）;aaC2、aaC4、sul1和aac（6'）-Ib-cr耐药基因与菌株产生相应的耐药抗性存在一致性（P<0.01）。分离菌株中Ⅰ类整合子可变区域的优势结构为dfrA27-aadA2-qnrA。鉴定出致病性血清型的存在,且对应菌株都具有多重耐药性,优势血清型为O104：H4。分离株中存在33个STs,ST46为优势STs（16.13%）,具有3个主要克隆群,依次为CC10、CC46和CC176;与致病性相关菌株的STs和人源大肠杆菌具有共同的遗传背景。本研究表明,养殖场的水貂受到致病性和多重耐药性大肠杆菌的污染,相同克隆群菌株的耐药基因分布具有多态性,表观特征差异明显。     

奶牛乳腺炎模型的建立及炎症相关因子基因mRNA转录水平的分析

旨在探讨金黄色葡萄球菌（S.aureus）型和大肠杆菌（E.coli）型乳腺炎奶牛乳腺组织的炎症相关因子基因的mRNA转录水平。将10⁵ CFU·mL^-1的S.aureus和E.coli经乳导管分别注入奶牛乳房,在感染第7天采用活体无菌手术法采集乳腺组织,并采用组织HE染色和免疫荧光法进行乳腺炎模型的鉴定;利用qPCR分别检测了2个诱导组和对照组奶牛乳腺组织的趋化因子家族（CCL2、CCL8、CXCR1、CXCL2和CXCL13）、补体因子（CFI和CFB）、自噬调节因子DEPP1和白细胞介素受体IL21R共9个基因的mRNA转录水平。结果显示：与对照组相比,TLR4/NF-κB炎症相关信号通路中的关键分子（TLR4、NF-κB和TNFα）在2个诱导组乳腺组织中的蛋白表达水平均极显著上调（P<0.01）;结合HE染色结果,表明本试验成功构建了2种类型的奶牛乳腺炎活体模型。mRNA转录水平的检测结果表明,与对照组相比,7个基因（CCL2、CCL8、CXCR1、CXCL2、CFI、CFB和IL21R）在2个诱导组乳腺组织中的mRNA转录水平均极显著上调（P<0.001）,CXCL13的mRNA转录水平仅在S.aurues诱导组乳腺组织中极显著上调（P<0.01）;DEPP1的mRNA转录水平在2个诱导组中均极显著下调（P<0.01）。此外,CCL2、CCL8、CXCR1、CFI和IL21R共5个基因在E.coli诱导组中的mRNA转录水平均极显著高于S.aureus组（P<0.01）。S.aureus和E.coli感染均可导致奶牛产生严重的临床乳腺炎症状,并促使上述炎症相关基因的mRNA转录水平在乳腺组织中发生变化,以应对乳腺炎症的发生与发展过程;趋化因子CCL2等5个基因在E.coli诱导组中的mRNA转录水平显著高于S.aureus诱导组,解释了E.coli常常能引起急性乳腺炎,而S.aureus可引起慢性乳腺炎的原因。上述结果可为深入研究不同类型乳腺炎的分子调控机制提供参考。     

山东地区乳房炎牛奶中大肠杆菌的分离鉴定及耐药性分析

试验旨在了解山东地区乳房炎牛奶中大肠杆菌的污染状况及耐药情况。选择山东省3个地区的规模化奶牛场共采集227份牛奶样品，采用细菌学方法对大肠杆菌进行分离鉴定，用微量肉汤稀释法检测分离菌对11种常规抗菌药物的敏感性，采用PCR方法对常见的13种耐药基因、8种毒力基因和Ⅰ类整合子基因盒结构进行分析。结果显示，从227份牛奶样品中共分离出71株大肠杆菌；大肠杆菌对1种及1种以上抗菌药耐药的菌株达到77.5%，多重耐药率为15.5%，其中对多黏菌素耐药率为52.2%，对阿莫西林-克拉维酸耐药率为39.4%，而所有菌株均对新霉素表现为敏感。PCR检测耐药基因、毒力基因和Ⅰ类整合子结果显示，β-内酰胺类耐药基因中bla_TEM基因携带率为100%，其中全部为bla_TEM-1基因，bla_CTX-M基因携带率为32.4%，其中主要为bla_CTX-M-15基因，没有检测到bla_SHV、bla_OXA基因；多黏菌素的耐药基因mcr-1携带率为29.6%；喹诺酮类耐药基因中aac（6'）-Ⅰb-cr基因携带率为29.6%，qnrB基因携带率为20.8%，没有检测到qnrA和qnrC耐药基因；对8种毒力基因检测分析结果显示，仅Hly毒力基因没有被检出，Ecs3703、Irp2基因的检出率较高，分别为90.1%和63.4%，71株大肠杆菌中共有11株携带Ⅰ类整合子，检出率为15.5%，11株大肠杆菌携带6种耐药基因盒结构，最主要的耐药基因盒排列为dfr17-aadA5。本研究结果表明，山东地区乳房炎牛奶中大肠杆菌的耐药现象严重，携带毒力基因Ecs3703、Irp2的大肠杆菌可能是引起奶牛乳房炎的致病菌，Ⅰ类整合子的检测在细菌耐药性与基因携带率方面发挥着关键作用，可为临床预防和治疗奶牛乳房炎大肠杆菌病提供理论依据。     

陕西地区羊源致病性大肠杆菌耐药性分析与毒力基因检测

旨在了解陕西省部分地区腹泻羊源致病性大肠杆菌(E. coli)耐药性及毒力基因携带情况,本研究从10个养殖场采集54份腹泻羊拭子样品,经分离纯化、生化鉴定及16S rRNA基因序列分析,共分离得到50株E. coli,对分离菌进行药敏试验、耐药基因及毒力基因检测。结果显示,分离菌对氨苄西林、氟苯尼考和磺胺异噁唑耐药率达90%以上,且98%(49/50)为多重耐药菌,对8~11种抗生素耐药的菌株占68%(34/50),仅对美罗培南敏感。所有菌株均携带1~6种不同的耐药基因,其中,Sul1(64%)、TetA(34%)、bla_CTX-M(32%)携带率较高,未检测到bla_SHV。有5株产ESBLs的E. coli携带mcr-1耐药基因。毒力基因检测结果显示,98%(49/50)的菌株携带毒力基因,其中,etrA检出率最高,为80%(40/50)。综上表明,陕西省羊源E. coli多重耐药情况严峻,β-内酰胺类耐药基因与耐药表型不符,提示可能存在其他耐药机制,同时,分离菌具有复杂的毒力谱。本研究为陕西省羊源致病性E. coli感染的防控提供科学依据。     

PGD2/DP1途径对细菌感染奶牛子宫内膜组织中HMGB-1和PAFR表达的影响

为了研究前列腺素D₂（prostaglandin D₂,PGD₂）/DP₁受体途径对大肠杆菌（Escherichia coli）和金黄色葡萄球菌（Staphylococcus aureus）感染奶牛子宫内膜组织中炎症介质HMGB-1和PAFR的表达及对组织损伤程度的影响,试验以体外培养奶牛子宫内膜组织为研究对象,应用1×10^-6 mol/L DP₁受体激动剂（BW-245C和15d-PGJ2）和等量（1×10⁶ CFU/mL）大肠杆菌、金黄色葡萄球菌共同处理奶牛子宫内膜组织,采用实时荧光定量PCR、免疫组化和HE染色法检测奶牛子宫内膜组织中HMGB-1和PAFR的表达并评价组织损伤情况。结果显示,与空白对照组相比,大肠杆菌和金黄色葡萄球菌感染奶牛子宫内膜组织中HMGB-1和PAFR表达量显著升高（P<0.05）,而DP₁受体激动剂与大肠杆菌和金黄色葡萄球菌共处理奶牛子宫内膜组织中DP₁受体激动剂显著抑制奶牛子宫组织中HMGB-1和PAFR的表达（P<0.05）。HE染色结果显示,大肠杆菌与金黄色葡萄球菌感染的奶牛子宫内膜组织上皮细胞和腺上皮细胞完全脱落、坏死、崩解;而DP₁受体激动剂、大肠杆菌、金黄色葡萄球菌共同处理奶牛子宫内膜组织中,DP₁受体激动剂的加入显著减轻奶牛子宫内膜组织的损伤程度（P<0.05）。免疫组化染色法结果与以上两种方法结果一致。结果表明,PGD₂能够抑制大肠杆菌与金黄色葡萄球菌感染的奶牛子宫内膜组织中损伤相关因子HMGB-1、PAFR的表达,减轻组织损伤程度,这一作用可能是由DP₁受体所介导的。     

Serum resistance and the traT gene in bovine mastitis-causing Escherichia coli

Ninety-five Escherichia coli isolates from bovine mastitis, 47 isolates from milking machine filters, 36 enterotoxigenic (ETEC) and 43 verocytotoxigenic (VTEC) isolates from cows were examined for the ability to resist the bactericidal effects of 90% gnotobiotic calf serum. There was no significant difference in the percentage of isolates in each group which demonstrated resistance. Two potential virulence traits, the traT gene and the K1 capsular antigen, previously shown to be related to serum resistance, in human E. coli pathogens, were also examined. Using colony blot hybridization there was no significant difference in the percentage of isolates in each group carrying the traT gene. A significant relationship between the presence of the traT gene and serum resistance was not found in any of the four groups of E. coli isolates tested. Only 3.2% of the bovine mastitis, 2.1% of the milk filter and 4.6% of the VTEC isolates were positive for the K1 capsular antigen. Again, no correlation between either the K1 antigen and serum resistance or between the K1 antigen and the presence of the traT gene was found in any of the four groups. None of the antimicrobial resistance patterns of the isolates were the same as those demonstrated by R plasmids known to carry the traT gene. Thus, it appears that the traT gene may not be related to serum resistance in bovine E. coli isolates.     

新疆地区腹泻仔猪源大肠杆菌的分群、血清型鉴定及耐药性分析

旨在了解新疆地区腹泻仔猪源大肠杆菌的系统进化分群、血清型及耐药性。本研究对154份腹泻仔猪粪便样品进行大肠杆菌的分离鉴定,采用多重PCR方法对分离株进行系统进化分群和O血清型鉴定,通过K-B纸片法对其进行药物敏感性检测并通过PCR方法进行耐药基因检测。结果显示：共分离到154株大肠杆菌,包括ETEC(n=24)、STEC(n=21)、EPEC(n=1)、EPEC/STEC(n=2)、ETEC/STEC(n=1)和ETEC/EPEC(n=1),其他104株。系统进化分群显示,多数菌株属于B1(37%)和A群(31%)。定型菌株44株,分别属于10种血清型,以O154、O12、O8、O141和O175为主要流行血清型。151株(98%)为多重耐药菌,对复方新诺明、四环素、氨苄西林、链霉素和氯霉素的耐药率为81%～100%,对阿莫西林/克拉维酸、头孢噻肟、庆大霉素、头孢曲松、环丙沙星和阿米卡星的耐药率为31%～66%,对左氧氟沙星、多黏菌素B、头孢他啶、头孢吡肟、氨苄西林-舒巴坦、哌拉西林-他唑巴坦和亚胺培南的耐药率为1%～19%。耐药基因tetA(88%)、tetG(60%)和cmlA(4...     

犊牛腹泻源大肠杆菌耐药情况及HPI相关基因的检测

本研究旨在明确犊牛腹泻源性大肠杆菌的耐药情况、强毒力岛（HPI）标志基因及相关基因的携带情况，以及大肠杆菌分离株与HPI携带的关系。采集犊牛病理性腹泻样本158份，采用麦康凯培养基和伊红美蓝培养基进行筛选，镜检符合大肠杆菌形态的进行VITEK 2 Compact生化鉴定和PCR鉴定，采用K-B纸片法对大肠杆菌分离株进行药敏试验，应用PCR方法进行分离株HPI相关基因携带情况的检测。结果显示，共分离得到75株大肠杆菌，分离株对阿莫西林、哌拉西林、氨苄西林、头孢唑啉、氟苯尼考、恩诺沙星、四环素的耐药率均>90%，对头孢氨苄、头孢拉定、头孢曲松、环丙沙星、诺氟沙星和氧氟沙星的耐药率均≥ 60.00%，对阿米卡星较敏感，耐药率为9.33%；75株大肠杆菌全部耐3种以上药物，多重耐药（≥ 10）的菌株占85.33%，耐药谱集中在耐14~17种药物，5株对19种药物全部耐药。HPI标志基因irp2的阳性率为100%，其他相关基因fyuA、irp3、irp5、irp8和ytbA的检出率在66.00%以上。综上所述，宁夏地区犊牛腹泻源性大肠杆菌耐药普遍，多重耐药现象严重。     

奶牛乳房炎大肠杆菌刃天青微量板快速诊断及药敏试验

为了建立奶牛乳房炎大肠杆菌快速诊断与药敏试验方法,用刃天青钠取代大肠杆菌选择培养基MQQ中的酚红指示剂,通过对刃天青的工作浓度、大肠杆菌接种量和培养时间等参数的研究,建立了奶牛乳房炎大肠杆菌刃天青微量板快速诊断方法.将不同细菌及其感染模拟奶样进行刃天青微量板快速培养结果显示,此刃天青微量板对大肠杆菌具有很强的选择培养特性,能在10 h内获得明确诊断结果,并能反映奶牛乳腺大肠杆菌感染强度.对89份临床奶样进行大肠杆菌刃天青微量板快速诊断敏感性和特异性检测,结果显示,此刃天青微量板法诊断大肠杆菌阳性奶样敏感性高达100%,诊断大肠杆菌阴性奶样特异性高达94.9%,总符合率高达95.5%.在此基础上用矫正浓度10种抗生素包被微量板,分别用10株大肠杆菌纯培养菌株及其感染模拟奶样和10份大肠杆菌阳性奶样进行快速药敏试验,所获结果与标准纸片扩散法完全一致.这些研究结果表明,本研究建立的刃天青微量板法可以取代常规方法用于奶样大肠杆菌的快速诊断及药敏试验.     

A Resazurin Microplate Assay for Quick Diagnosis and Antibiotic Sensitivity Measurement of Bovine Mastitis-causing E.coli

To establish a microplate assay for quick diagnosis and antibiotic sensitivity measurement of bovine mastitis-causing E.coli,the phenol red indicator in E.coli selective medium was replaced with resazurin and the resazurin microplate assay was established by determing of optimization of indicator concentration,bacterial inoculation dose and culture time.The testing results of different bacteria and their infection-mimicking milk samples showed that the microplate assay had a strong selective property for E.coli and the definite diagnostic result could be obtained within 10 h with a capability of reflecting infection strength of dairy cow mammary gland.The results of 89 mastitis-positive milk samples showed that the microplate assay had a detection sensitivity of 100%,and the negative milk samples specificity was 94.9%,95.5% agreement to the conventional culture-based method.The micoplates were coated with rectified concentrations of 10 different antibiotics and the quick drug sensitivity assay was performed using 10 E.coli strains,infection-mimicking milk samples and 10 E.coli-positive milk samples.The obtained results had a complete agreement with that of standard disc diffusion method.These data suggested that the resazurin microplate assay established in this study could replace the conventional methods for quick diagnosis and antibiotic sensitivity measurement of bovine mastitis-causing E.coli.     

鸭源致病性大肠杆菌O抗原与毒力基因检测及药敏试验

【目的】探究荣昌、大足和隆昌三地鸭大肠杆菌分离株的O抗原、毒力基因及耐药性。【方法】将2014年—2021年鸭病料中分离得到的107株细菌在无菌条件下接种于麦康凯培养基中划线进行培养纯化,通过16S rDNA基因扩增测序和生化试验进行细菌鉴定,采用PCR技术对O抗原和16种毒力基因进行检测,采用Kirby-Bauer纸片扩散法进行药敏试验。【结果】107株分离株鉴定为大肠杆菌;O抗原鉴定试验鉴定出9种O抗原,其中优势抗原为O78(37.00%)、O7(25.00%),O121和O145(均为15.00%),并检测到5株O78+O145和O7+O145融合株;共检测出11种毒力因子,其中强致病性毒力基因有Tsh基因(检出率为25.23%)、fyuA基因(检出率为31.78%)、estB基因(检出率为31.78%)、Vat基因(检出率为2.80%)、iucA基因(检出率为44.56%)。3种毒力基因ompA、yijP和ibeB的携带率最高,分别为100.00%、96.26%和85.98%;药敏试验结果表明分离株对氨基糖苷类药物、米诺环素和多黏菌素最为敏感,对大环内酯类药物和克林霉素耐药,分...     

Characterization of Escherichia coli isolated from healthy dogs

Five month old dogs from a Midwestern research kennel occasionally developed bloody diarrhea after shipment to other facilities. As previous diagnostic efforts failed to reveal any potential pathogens in feces from normal and diarrheic dogs, Escherichia coli was investigated for select virulence properties that may contribute to the occurrence of bloody diarrhea. Fecal swabs from 52 healthy dogs were examined for E. coli. Two hundred and sixty E. coli-like colonies were screened by PCR for the attaching and effacing (eae) gene, Shiga toxin (stx) genes, and the heat-stable enterotoxin type A (sta) gene. One hundred forty two of the 260 E. coli-like colonies (54.6%) from 43 dogs were eae or sta positive; and 60 of the eae and/or sta positive isolates were examined further. Among the 60 isolates, 23 (38.3%) possessed the eae gene, 32 (53.3%) possessed the sta gene, and five (8.3%) possessed both eae and sta genes (eae⁺/sta⁺). Of the 60 isolates, six sta⁺ and one eae⁺/sta⁺ isolates were hemolytic. When examined in the suckling mouse assay, five of six sta⁺ isolates and three of four eae⁺/sta⁺ isolates gave gut-to-remaining carcass ratios ≥0.083, indicating expression of heat-stable enterotoxin. These enterotoxin-producing isolates belonged to serogroups O42, O170, and O-negative.     

Epidemiological studies of clinical and subclinical ovine mastitis in Awassi sheep in northern Jordan

Forty-six Awassi sheep flocks selected by stratified random sampling were subjected to a cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of intramammary infections, to assess the influence of flock size and parity on the prevalence of somatic cell count (SCC) and to identify major udder pathogens. Of the 3472 udder halves examined, 29.8% had over 10⁶ SCC/ml and 0.03% had dry teats due to chronic mastitis. Flocks with 30–49 milking ewes (small flock size) were much younger (P < 0.001) than flocks with 50–99 ewes (medium) and flocks with ≥ 100 ewes (large). Pairwise analysis of the InSCC of both halves of the udders revealed significant mean differences for small and large flock size (P < 0.05), and for medium and large flock size (P < 0.001). Mean InSCC was lower (P < 0.05) in samples obtained from the left half compared with samples of the right half of the udder. Multiparous ewes had higher (P < 0.001) mean InSCC than primiparous ewes. Also, ewes with twin lambs had higher (P < 0.001) mean InSCC in the right half of the udder compared with single-lamb ewes. Samples collected in January (winter) had lower (P < 0.05) mean InSCC compared with samples collected in June. The most common organisms isolated from subclinical mastitis cases were coagulase-negative Staphylococci (17.8%), E. coli (13.6%), Streptococcus agalactiae (6.8%) and Staphylococcus aureus (6.8%). Of the 46 flocks, 20 were monitored monthly for 9 consecutive months to determine the incidence of clinical mastitis diagnosed by shepherds or/and sheep farmers with major pathogens. The incidence of clinical mastitis (expressed as the number of clinical cases per 100 ewe-months) were 2.1 ± 1.9 (SD), 1.9 ± 1.1, and 1.2 + 2.1 for small, medium and large flocks size strata, respectively. The overall population estimate was 1.7 ± 0.02 cases per 100 ewe-months. The most-common clinical isolates were S. aureus (22% of all clinical isolates) and E. coli (14.2%).     

Interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels in sera and whey of cattle with naturally occurring coliform mastitis

Concentrations of interferon-gamma (lFN-gamma) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were determined in serum and whey samples from cattle with naturally occurring coliform mastitis for two weeks after onset using bovine INF-gamma and TNF-alpha-specific ELISA. In serum and whey samples from healthy cows. IFN-gamma was almost undetectable and TNF-alpha was detected at low levels. At the onset of illness, INF-gamma in sera and whey and TNF-alpha in whey from the mastitic cows were significantly higher than their respective values in healthy cows. Concentrations of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha in whey from mastitic cattle decreased significantly as the cows recovered.     

Concentrations of IL-6 in Serum and Whey from Healthy and Mastitic Cows

Inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-6, have been shown to reflect clinical signs in certain conditions in diseased animals. In this study, we quantified the IL-6 concentrations in the serum and milk whey from 94 dairy cows with acute clinical mastitis and 55 healthy lactating cows. The IL-6 concentrations in serum from mastitic cows were significantly higher on the first day of illness compared to those of normal cows. Higher concentrations of IL-6 were also detected in the whey from mastitic cows, whereas low concentrations of IL-6 were detected in both serum and whey samples from normal cows. IL-6 concentrations in the serum taken at the onset of illness from cows that later required euthanasia were significantly higher than those in samples from cows that later recovered. These results suggest that serum IL-6 concentrations may be of prognostic value in identifying cows with severe mastitis.     

The effect of dietary spray-dried bovine colostrum and plasma on the response of pigs to enterotoxigenic E. coli challenge after weaning

Twenty four, 21-d-old female pigs were fed diets containing either skim milk powder (CON+), spray-dried bovine colostrum (7.5%, BC+) or spray-dried bovine plasma (7.5%, BP+) and were dosed orally with 1 × 10⁹ CFU of E. coli O149:K88. Another group of 8 unchallenged pigs was fed the skim milk powder diet (CON−). On d 19 of the experiment all piglets were euthanased. Adverse effects of the E. coli challenge were observed variously throughout the small intestine in pigs consuming either the BC+ or BP+ diets. In this experiment, similar responses to the E. coli challenge were observed in both plasma and colostrum fed pigs, which suggests that spray-dried bovine colostrum may be a potential alternative to spray-dried bovine plasma.