<em>Escherichia coli </em>in poultry meat: prevalence, abundance and phylogenetic profiles — ASN Events
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  3. Escherichia coli in poultry meat: prevalence, abundance and phylogenetic profiles

Escherichia coli in poultry meat: prevalence, abundance and phylogenetic profiles (#231)

Belinda Vangchhia 1 , Michaela DJ Blyton 1 , Peter Collignon 2 , Karina Kennedy 2 , David M Gordon 1
  1. The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
  2. Canberra Hospital, Canberra, ACT, Australia

INTRODUCTION:

Retail poultry meat products are frequently contaminated with E. coli and therefore people may acquire E. coli through ingestion of poultry meat products. E. coli is a common cause of bacterial infection in humans.

OBJECTIVE:

To provide insights into the attributes of E. coli isolated from poultry meat products sold in Australia with special attention to their prevalence, abundance and phylogenetic profiles.

METHODS:

Poultry meat samples were collected during 3 seasons from 16 shops. These shops represented 3 major supermarket chains and an independent butcher that were co-located in the 4 major town centres of Canberra, Australia. E. coli was isolated following enrichment using lauryl sulfate broth or Luria broth plus vancomycin, and also by antibiotic selection. All isolates were assigned to a phylogenetic group using Clermont quadruplex PCR and unique strains in a sample were identified by DNA fingerprinting using repetitive element palindromic PCR (REP-PCR).

RESULT:

E. coli was detected in 77.5% of 306 meat samples. Phylogroup A strains were most common among the 3415 E. coli isolates, with phylogroup B2 strains being the least common. The B2 strains are potential human ExPEC (extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli) strains while A strains are typically over-represented in live chickens.

Identical strains were observed from different meat types, retailers, and geographic locations. Poultry meats from independent butchers were less likely to have E. coli than the major retailers. Gizzards of whole meat had higher incidence of E. coli than mince, breast or wings. Products from organically reared or conventionally reared chickens were more likely to have E. coli than products from free range chickens. E. coli detection was significantly high during summer than autumn but intermediate in winter.

CONCLUSION:

The results of this study provide further evidence that the food we consume is a significant source of E. coli. The results also suggest that some post processing contamination of poultry products may be occurring.

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