Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) is the etiologic agent of hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), which typically affects children ranging in age from six months to five years old. Transmission is produced by consumption of contaminated food, by direct contact with animals or the environment and from person to person. In previous studies we determined that the environment of a dairy farm is a non-animal reservoir; thus, we proposed to study the survival of 4 VTEC isolates (O20:H19; O91:H21; O157:H7 and O178:H19) in sterile water troughs and bovine feces by viable bacteria count and detection of virulence genes by PCR. It was demonstrated that the survival of different VTEC isolates (O157 and non-O157) varied in terms of their own characteristics as well as of the environmental conditions where they were found. The main differences between isolates were their survival time and the maximal counts reached. The competitive and adaptive characteristics of some isolates increase the infection risk for people that are visiting or working on a farm, as well as the risk for reinfection of the animals and food contamination.

Verotoxin-producing E. coli (VTEC) are the etiologic agent of hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), that affect children typically ranged in age from six months old to five years old. The transmission is produced by consumption of contaminated foods, by direct contact with animals or the environment and person to person. In previous studies we determined that the environment of a dairy farm is a non animal reservoir, for that we proposed to study the survival of 4 VTEC isolates (O20:H19; O91:H21; O157:H7 and O178:H19) in sterile water troughs and bovine feces by viable bacteria count and detection of virulence genes by PCR. It was demonstrated that the survival of different VTEC isolates (O157 and non-O157) varied in function of their own characteristics as well as the environmental conditions where they were. The main differences between isolates were the survival time and maximal counts reached. The competitive and adaptive characteristic of some isolates increase the infection risk for people that are working or visiting a farm, as well as increase the reinfection risk for the animals and the contamination of foods. | Escherichia coli productor de verotoxina [verotoxin-producing E. coli (VTEC)] es el agen- te causal del síndrome urémico hemolítico (SUH), enfermedad que afecta principalmente a niños de edades comprendidas entre 6 meses y 5 años. La transmisión se produce por el consumo de alimentos contaminados, por el contacto directo con animales o con el medio ambiente y de persona a persona. En trabajos anteriores hemos determinado que el medio ambiente del tambo es un reservorio no animal de VTEC, por lo cual nos pro- pusimos estudiar la supervivencia de 4 aislamientos VTEC (O20:H19; O91:H21; O157:H7 y O178:H19) en agua estéril de bebederos y en materia fecal de bovinos mediante el recuento de bacterias viables y la detección de genes de virulencia por PCR. Se demos- tró que la supervivencia de los distintos aislamientos VTEC (O157 y no-O157) varía en función de sus características intrínsecas y de las condiciones del medio ambiente en el que se encuentran. Las principales diferencias entre los aislamientos fueron el tiempo de supervivencia en los microcosmos y los recuentos máximos alcanzados. La capacidad para adaptarse y sobrevivir de estos microorganismos aumenta el riesgo de transmisión a las personas que trabajan en los establecimientos ganaderos o que se encuentran de visita en ellos, así como el riesgo de reinfección de los animales y de contaminación de los alimentos. | Fil: Polifroni, Rosana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tandil. Centro de Investigacion Veterinaria de Tandil; Argentina | Fil: Etcheverría, Analía Inés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tandil. Centro de Investigacion Veterinaria de Tandil; Argentina | Fil: Arroyo, Guillermo Horacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tandil. Centro de Investigacion Veterinaria de Tandil; Argentina | Fil: Padola, Nora L.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tandil. Centro de Investigacion Veterinaria de Tandil; Argentina