Isolation and characteristics of Shiga toxin 2f-producing Escherichia coli among pigeons in Kyushu, Japan.

ABSTRACT: An increasing number of Shiga toxin 2f-producing Escherichia coli (STEC2f) infections in humans are being reported in Europe, and pigeons have been suggested as a reservoir for the pathogen. In Japan, there is very little information regarding carriage of STEC2f by pigeons, prompting the need for further investigation. We collected 549 samples of pigeon droppings from 14 locations in Kyushu, Japan, to isolate STEC2f and to investigate characteristics of the isolates. Shiga toxin stx 2f gene fragments were detected by PCR in 16 (2.9%) of the 549 dropping samples across four of the 14 locations. We obtained 23 STEC2f-isolates from seven of the original samples and from three pigeon dropping samples collected in an additional sampling experiment (from a total of seven locations across both sa

SUBMITTER: Murakami K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3900449 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature