Identification of Escherichia coli O157: H7 on Bovine Carcasses in Rafsanjan by Using Culture and PCR Method

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is now recognized as an important cause of diarrhea, hemorrhagia colitis and hemolytic-uremic syndrome worldwide. Meat contaminated with animal feces is probably the major source of the E. coli O157:H7. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in meat samples of bovine in Rafsanjan, Iran. This was a descriptive - analytical and descriptive study, which was conducted from April 2011 to February 2012. A total of 148 bovine carcasses were sampled by surface section of neck meat taken immediately after slaughter analyzed using microbiological examinations. Suspected colonies to E. coli O157:H7 were confirmed by a specific polymerase chain reaction method (PCR). The results showed that the contamination rate of samples to E. coli and E. coli O157:H7 were 36(24/32%) and 10(6/75%), respectively, six samples (4/05%) were identified as E. coli O157:H7, using polymerase chain reaction. Seasonal distribution showed that the highest prevalence of E. coli and E. coli O157:H7 occurred in summer samples (P<0.05).These results indicate that bovine can be a reservoir for E. coli O157:H7 and bovine meat may serve as a vehicle for the pathogen transmission to human.