Several outbreaks of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections have been associated with minimally processed leafy vegetables in the United States. Harvesting and processing cause plant tissue damage. In order to assess the role of plant tissue damage in the contamination of leafy greens with E. coli O157:H7, the effect of mechanical, physiological, and plant disease-induced lesions on the growth of ...

The survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in feces from steers fed corn (CO) or barley (BA) was evaluated at -10, +4 and +22 degrees C. Fecal pats were inoculated with a four-strain mixture of nalidixic-acid resistant E. coli O157:H7 at two levels: 10(3) CFU g(-1) (low, L) and 105 CFU g(-1) (high, H). At -10 degrees C, duration of survival of E. coli O157:H7 was reduced (p < 0.05) in CO-L (35 da...

Outbreaks of Escherichia coli O157:H7 disease associated with animal exhibits have been reported with increasing frequency. Transmission can occur through contact with contaminated haircoats, bedding, farm structures, or water. We investigated the distribution and survival of E. coli O157:H7 in the immediate environments of individually housed, experimentally inoculated cattle by systematically...

E. coli O157:H7 is recognised as an important human pathogen world-wide and has been associated with diseases such as haemorrhagic colitis (HC), haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) and thrombotic thrombocytopaenic purpura (TTP). Accurate laboratory detection of E. coli O157:H7 is important for diagnostic purposes and to justify epidemiological data on E. coli O157:H7. A well-known phenotypic char...

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a major food safety concern for the beef industry. Several studies have provided evidence that cattle hides are the main source of beef carcass contamination during processing and that reductions in the E. coli O157:H7 load on the hides of cattle entering processing facilities will lead to reductions in carcass contamination. Bacteriophages have been proposed as a no...

This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of foodborne pathogens, Escherichia coli, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter spp. on slaughtered cattle in Isfahan, Iran. A total of 203 cattle carcasses were sampled by surface section of neck meat taken immediately after slaughter and analyzed using microbiological examinations. Suspected colonies to E. coli O157:H7...

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of free chlorine concentrations in wash water on Escherichia coli O157:H7 reduction, survival, and transference during washing of fresh-cut lettuce. The effectiveness of rewashing for inactivation of E. coli O157:H7 on newly cross-contaminated produce previously washed with solutions containing an insufficient amount of chlorine also was assess...

The role of lytic bacteriophages in preventing cross contamination of produce has not been evaluated. A cocktail of three lytic phages specific for E. coli O157:H7 (EcoShield™) or a control (phosphate buffered saline, PBS) was applied to lettuce by either; (1) immersion of lettuce in 500 ml of EcoShield™ 8.3 log PFU/ml or 9.8 log PFU/ml for up to 2 min before inoculation with E. coli O157:H7; (...

Enrichment and direct (nonenrichment) rectoanal mucosal swab (RAMS) culture techniques were developed and compared to traditional fecal culture for the detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in experimentally infected and naturally infected cattle. Holstein steers (n = 16) orally dosed with E. coli O157:H7 were sampled after bacterial colonization starting 15 days postinoculation. Enrichment RAM...