ISSN 2756-3294
African Journal of Botany ISSN: 3519-3824 Vol. 8 (3), pp. 001-008, March, 2020. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Public health risk of O157 and Non-O157 Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli strains in a semi-urban environment in Nigeria
Yakubu Bitrus1*, Boniface Nnamdi Duru2 and Umaru Dunkura Ali3
1Biochemistry and Applied Molecular Biology Division, National Veterinary Research Institute Vom, Plateau State, Nigeria.
2Federal College of Veterinary and Medical Laboratory Technology, National Veterinary Research Institute Vom, Plateau State, Nigeria.
3Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.
Accepted 20 October, 2019
Abstract
Vehicles of shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections can be quite broad and under reported especially in the rural and semi-urban communities in the developing countries, suggestive of silent and high prevalence which is a public health risk. This may not be unconnected with acute renal failure cases in children and adolescents in the developing countries as STEC related infections have been associated with the few investigated among many un-investigated cases. In this study, multiplex PCR molecular profiling showed high prevalence (27.9%) of STEC strains in the environment studied, majority of which were the non-O157: H serotypes. Sixty-two (86%) of the E. coli 16SrRNA gene positive isolates were positive for stx1, stx2 or both. Two O157: H serotypes were identified, twenty-five (40%) as non-O157: H+ (motile) and 34 (54%) classified as non-O157: H- (non-motile) serotypes. There was a marked heterogeneity in the STEC strains identified in this study, suggesting that the ecology of STEC seems more complex in the environment studied than elsewhere likely enhanced by commercial, social and cultural practices. The results of this study revealed an alarming prevalence of non-O157 serotypes and a few O157 serotypes in the environment studied which is a public health risk and could serve as a point of outbreak or sporadic cases globally as the world today is a global village.
Key words: Multiplex polymerase chian reaction (PCR), Escherichia coli, shiga toxin, serotypes, public health, prevalence.