A qPCR assay to detect and quantify Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) in cattle and on farms: a potential predictive tool for STEC culture-positive farms.

ABSTRACT: Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), of various serogroups harboring the intimin gene, form a serious threat to human health. They are asymptomatically carried by cattle. In this study, a quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) method was developed as a molecular method to detect and quantify Shiga toxin genes stx1 and stx2 and the intimin gene eae. Subsequently, 59 fecal samples from six farms were tested using qPCR and a culture method as a reference. Three farms had contaminated animals as demonstrated by the culture method. Culture-positive farms showed moderate significantly higher stx prevalences than culture-negative farms (p = 0.05). This is the first study which showed preliminary results that qPCR can predict STEC farm contamination, with a specificity of 77% and a sensitivity of 83%,

SUBMITTER: Verstraete K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4014729 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature