Potential Zoonotic Pathovars of Diarrheagenic <i>Escherichia coli</i> Detected in Lambs for Human Consumption from Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

• Main Authors: Ximena Blanco Crivelli, María Paz Bonino, Mariana Soledad Sanin, Juan Facundo Petrina, Vilma Noelia Disalvo, Rosana Massa, Elizabeth Miliwebsky, Armando Navarro, Isabel Chinen, Adriana Bentancor
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-08-01
• Series: Microorganisms
• Subjects: diarrheagenic <i>Escherichia coli</i>; lamb; carrier; Argentina
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/8/1710

Diarrheagenic <i>Escherichia coli</i> (DEC) pathovars impact childhood health. The southern region of Argentina shows the highest incidence of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in children of the country. The big island of Tierra del Fuego (TDF) in Argentina registered an incidence of five cases/100,000 inhabitants of HUS in 2019. This work aimed to establish the prevalence of STEC, EPEC, and EAEC in lambs slaughtered in abattoirs from TDF as well as to characterize the phenotypes and the genotypes of the isolated pathogens. The prevalence was 26.6% for <i>stx</i>+, 5.7% for <i>eae</i>+, and 0.27% for <i>aag</i>R+/<i>aai</i>C+. Twelve STEC isolates were obtained and belonged to the following serotypes: O70:HNT, O81:H21, O81:HNT, O102:H6, O128ab:H2, O174:H8, and O174:HNT. Their genotypic profiles were <i>stx</i>_1c (2), <i>stx</i>_1c/<i>ehx</i>A (3), <i>stx</i>_2b/<i>ehx</i>A (1), <i>stx</i>_1c/<i>stx</i>_2b (2), and <i>stx</i>_1c/<i>stx</i>₂/<i>ehx</i>A (4). Six EPEC isolates were obtained and corresponded to five serotypes: O2:H40, O32:H8, O56:H6, O108:H21, and O177:H25. All the EPEC isolates were <i>bfp</i>A- and two were <i>ehxA</i>+. By X<i>baI-</i>PFGE of 17 isolates, two clusters were identified. By antimicrobial susceptibility tests, 8/12 STEC and 5/6 EPEC were resistant to at least one antibiotic. This work provides new data to understand the ecology of DEC in TDF and confirms that ovine are an important carrier of these pathogens in the region.