Detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 from Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae) at a Cattle Farm in Japan

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 was isolated for the first time from Musca domestica L. A total of 310 fly samples was collected from 4 different farms in Obihiro-City, Hokkaido, in the summer and autumn of 1997;5 samples carried E. coli serotype O157:H7. Using ELISA and Vero cell cytotoxicity assays. 3 isolates from 1 cattle farm produced both active Shiga-toxin type I (Stx1) and 2 (Stx2). These isolates also carried hemolysin and eaeA genes and harbored the 90-kb virulence plasmid of EHEC O157:H7. Based on plasmid profiles, antibiotic patterns, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based DNA finger printing analysis using random amplified polymorphic DNA, pulsed field gel electrophoresis analysis, and DNA sequences of stx 1 and stx 2 , all 3 isolates from fly samples were identical. These results indicate that the house fly is capable of carrying the toxigenic EHEC O157:H7 involved in human disease.