Incidence of Foodborne Disease in the US

Alfred Hitchcock, the price of gas, and the incidence of foodborne disease in the United States Jeffrey LeJeune, Food Animal Health Research Program OARDC

Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) An emerging disease
1982
Severe abdominal cramps
Bloody diarrhea
No fever
Edema in intestine
No usual pathogens isolated
History of recent hamburger consumption
1993
600 people affected

What is special about O157?
Attachment to intestinal cells
Via intimin ( eae gene)
Production of toxin
Shiga toxin
Also O26, O111, O145, O45, O103, O111

Disease Transmission in Humans
Foods of bovine origin: hamburger, roast, salami, raw milk
Other foods: apple cider, salads, deer jerky
Drinking/recreational water
Person-to-person
Direct cow-to-person
Environment-to-person

Public’s Back to Nature Mentality

Farm-to-Table Approach to Food Safety
E. coli O157 tracked to cattle
Bovine prevalence linked to carcass prevalence

How to control E. coli in cattle
Control transmission between farms
Control replication within individual cows
Control transmission between cows, within farms
A B A B A B

Control Between Farms A B

Hypothesis
European Starlings contribute to the prevalence of Escherichai coli O157 on dairy farms

Methods
Experimental carriage by birds
Transmission studies between starlings and cattle
Radio telemetry of birds
Bird census vs. bovine Prevalence (150 farms)
Molecular sub-typing of isolates

Doylestown Sterling Orrville Lime Lakes Roost 7:12 AM 7:25 AM 7:27 AM 7:30 AM 8:02 AM 7:32 AM Doylestown Staging Area 3.5 Miles

Sterling 0.5 Miles

Doylestown Sterling Orrville 6:51 PM 6:30 PM 5:59 PM 5:50 PM 5:45 PM 5:30 PM Lime Lakes Roost Staging Area 4 Miles

Results
Association between bird populations and bovine prevalence: More Birds, more O157
Matching of E. coli O157 isolates between farms
Impact- Application: Results will predict if bird control will have impact on E. coli O157 carriage in cattle.

Between cow, within farm control
Prevalence on individual farms often remains stable for years: frequently high, or frequently low
Role for management to influence E. coli ?
A B

Bedding and E. coli
Bedding material linked to coliform mastitis
Sawdust bedding linked to higher E. coli O157
3.1% 1.4% E. coli O157 less prevalent on among cattle in sand-bedded herds ( P =0.05)

Sand Recycling
Hypothesis: Recycled sand bedding is populated with bacterial communities suppressive to E. coli O157

Heat-labile suppression Fresh In-use Washed Dry Fresh In-use Washed Dry
T-RFLP analysis of bacterial communities
Regression Analysis of abundance of TRF and suppression
Cloning and sequencing of TRFs

Results
TRFs
Cytophaga-Flexibacter-Bacteriodetes
Gamma proteobacteria
Firmicutes
Impact-Application
Isolating these organisms, and enriching for their presence in bedding may be a way to control E. coli O157 in the farm environment.

Within Cow 4.4% 3.1% Corn Barley 15 pen pairs
Probiotics, Vaccination
Bacteriophage Therapy
Grain vs. Hay feeding ???
A B

Distillers’ Grains

Within Cow Control
Hypothesis:
Different feed components provide specific nutrients to the hind gut that influence microbial populations that either promote or suppress E. coli O157 carriage by cattle .

Effect of DGs on E. coli O157

Additional Methods
Determine available nutrients in mucin of cattle fed different diets
Determine preferred carbohydrate sources of E. coli O157
Determine association between :
feed-mucin carbohydrates- E. coli O157- microbial communites

Results
Initial results indicate specific microbial communities associated with
DG vs. corn feeding
E. coli O157-positive and E. coli O157-negative animals
Impact- Applications
Identifying microbial populations inhibitory to E. coli O157 can aid in the control of the organism in the live animal.

Take- Home Messages
Multiple factors interplay on the safety of the food supply
Holistic approach critical in weighing costs and benefits
Interdisciplinary teams valuable to answer complex questions

Acknowledgements and Collaborators
Bird Study
David Pearl, U of Guelph
Jeff Homan George Linz, USDA Wildlife Services
USDA NRI Grant 2006-01227
Bedding Study
McSpadden Gardener & Lab
Steve Abedon, Dept Microbiology, OSU Mansfield
OARDC SEEDs Interdisciplinary Grant
Distillers’ Grain
McSpadden Gardener Plant Pathology, OSU
Steve Loerch, Animal Sciences, OSU
USDA, AFRI 2009-03960

LeJeune Lab

Incidence of Foodborne Disease in the US

by dedmark on Sep 19, 2011

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Incidence of Foodborne Disease in the US — Presentation Transcript