Escherichia coli O157[ratio ]H7 diarrhoea associated with well water and infected cattle on an Ontario farm

A 16-month old female child living on an Ontario dairy farm was taken to hospital suffering from bloody diarrhoea. Escherichia coli O157[ratio ]H7 was isolated from her stool. Initial tests of well water samples were negative for E. coli by standard methods but culture of selected coliform colonies...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Epidemiology and infection 1998-02, Vol.120 (1), p.17-20
Main Authors: JACKSON, S. G., GOODBRAND, R. B., JOHNSON, R. P., ODORICO, V. G., ALVES, D., RAHN, K., WILSON, J. B., WELCH, M. K., KHAKHRIA, R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agriculture
Animals
Bacterial diseases
Bacterial diseases of the digestive system and abdomen
Bacteriophage Typing
Beef cattle
Biological and medical sciences
Cattle
Cattle Diseases - etiology
Cattle Diseases - transmission
Children
Dairy cattle
Diarrhea
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli Infections - etiology
Escherichia coli Infections - transmission
Escherichia coli Infections - veterinary
Escherichia coli O157 - classification
Female
Fresh Water - microbiology
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
Infant
Infections
Infectious diseases
Manure - microbiology
Medical sciences
Ontario
Public health
Surface water
Water samples
Water Supply
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A 16-month old female child living on an Ontario dairy farm was taken to hospital suffering from bloody diarrhoea. Escherichia coli O157[ratio ]H7 was isolated from her stool. Initial tests of well water samples were negative for E. coli by standard methods but culture of selected coliform colonies on sorbitol-MacConkey agar led to isolation of E. coli O157[ratio ]H7. E. coli O157[ratio ]H7 was also isolated from 63% of cattle on the farm. The E. coli O157[ratio ]H7 isolates from the child, the water and the cattle were phage type 14, produced verotoxins 1 and 2, and were highly related on analysis by pulsed field gel electrophoresis. The child did not have known direct contact with the cattle and did not consume unpasteurized milk. Hydrogeological investigation revealed the design and location of the well would allow manure-contaminated surface water to flow into the well. This investigation demonstrates that cattle farm well water is a potential source of E. coli O157[ratio ]H7 which may not be identified by standard screening for E. coli in water.
ISSN:0950-2688
1469-4409
DOI:10.1017/S0950268897008479