CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Introduction & Objectives: VTEC is the main aetiological agent of HUS and cattle are the main reservoir of VTEC that is transmitted to humans through contaminated foods, w ater, direct contact w ith animals and the environment. Although the serotype more frequently implicated in HUS is O157:H7, there are several other serotypes associated w ith human infections. Argentina has the highest incidence of HUS (17/100,000 children under five years old), and several serotypes have been isolated from human cases in this country: O157:H7, O145:H-, O178:H19, O91:H21 and serogroups as O26, O174, and O111. The aim of this w ork w as to determine the serotypes shared among cattle, foods and environment and assess w hich are the most prevalent in a collection of VTEC isolated in Argentina. Material & Methods: The isolates came from 4824 samples from cattle, foods (hamburger and minced meat) and environment of farms. From those, 545 w ere characterized by multiplex PCR to detect vt1, vt2, eae, ehxA and saa and then w ere serotyped. Results: The prevalent serotypes w ere O8:H19; O26:H11; O91:H21; O113:H21; O117:H7; O130:H11; O145:H-; O157:H7; O171:H2 and O178:H19, corresponding to 61 % of typable strains. There w ere serotypes shared betw een cattle and foods, betw een cattle and the environment and among cattle, foods and environment. Ninety eight seroytpes (18%) w ere non-typable Conclusions: The most prevalent serotypes shared among cattle, foods and environment in Argentina have been also isolated from human cases in several countries including our country, and carry virulence profiles that reflect the pathogenic potential of the strains. These results reinforce the idea of using non-selective methods for the diagnosis of VTEC. Abstracts - Abstract Submission http://abstracts.vtec2012.org/Abstract Submission/?State=Abstract&Abs... 1