Tamminen, Lena-Mari and Söderlund, Robert and Wilkinson, David A. and Torsein, Maria and Eriksson, Erik and Churakov, Mikhail and Dicksved, Johan and Keeling, Linda and Emanuelson, Ulf
(2019).
Risk factors and dynamics of verotoxigenic Escherichia coli O157:H7 on cattle farms: An observational study combining information from questionnaires, spatial data and molecular analyses.
Preventive Veterinary Medicine. 170
[Research article]
![]() |
PDF
- Accepted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. 1MB |
Abstract
The increasing number of human cases infected with a highly virulent type of verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) O157:H7 in Sweden is the result of domestic transmission originating in regional clusters of infected cattle farms. To control the spread of the bacteria a comprehensive picture of infection dynamics, routes of transmission between farms and risk factors for persistence is urgently needed. The aim of the study was to investigate different aspects of the epidemiology of VTEC O157:H7 on the Swedish island of Öland by combining information from environmental sampling of VTEC O157:H7 from 80 farms with information from farmer questionnaires, spatial and molecular analyses. The farms were sampled in the spring and fall of 2014 and on four of them additional samples were collected during summer and winter. The results show a high prevalence of VTEC O157:H7 and a high proportion of strains belonging to the virulent clade 8. Farms that became infected between samplings were all located in an area with high cattle density. The most important risk factors identified are generally associated with biosecurity and indicate that visitors travelling between farms may be important for transmission. In addition, whole genome sequencing of a subset of isolates from the four farms where additional sampling was performed revealed ongoing local transmission that cannot be observed with a lower resolution typing method. Our observations also show that VTEC O157:H7 may persist in the farm environment for extended periods of time, suggesting that specific on-farm measures to reduce environmental prevalence and spread between groups of animals may be required in these cases.
Authors/Creators: | Tamminen, Lena-Mari and Söderlund, Robert and Wilkinson, David A. and Torsein, Maria and Eriksson, Erik and Churakov, Mikhail and Dicksved, Johan and Keeling, Linda and Emanuelson, Ulf | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Title: | Risk factors and dynamics of verotoxigenic Escherichia coli O157:H7 on cattle farms: An observational study combining information from questionnaires, spatial data and molecular analyses | ||||
Series Name/Journal: | Preventive Veterinary Medicine | ||||
Year of publishing : | 2019 | ||||
Volume: | 170 | ||||
Page range: | 0 | ||||
Publisher: | Elsevier | ||||
ISSN: | 0167-5877 | ||||
Language: | English | ||||
Publication Type: | Research article | ||||
Refereed: | Yes | ||||
Article category: | Scientific peer reviewed | ||||
Version: | Accepted version | ||||
Copyright: | Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 | ||||
Full Text Status: | Public | ||||
Subjects: | (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 4 Agricultural Sciences > 403 Veterinary Science > Clinical Science | ||||
Keywords: | VTEC 0157, EHEC, Epidemiology, Glade 8, Transmission, Dairy cattle | ||||
URN:NBN: | urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-101895 | ||||
Permanent URL: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-101895 | ||||
Additional ID: |
| ||||
ID Code: | 16381 | ||||
Faculty: | VH - Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science | ||||
Department: | (VH) > Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (VH) > Dept. of Clinical Sciences (VH) > Dept. of Animal Nutrition and Management | ||||
Deposited By: | SLUpub Connector | ||||
Deposited On: | 29 Oct 2019 09:08 | ||||
Metadata Last Modified: | 07 Jul 2020 23:15 |
Repository Staff Only: item control page