Prevalence and Serological Detection of Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 Serogroup in Commercial Cattle Farms in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Objectives To determine the prevalence and to detect the presence of Escherichia coli O serogroup in commercial cattle farms in Kaduna State Nigeria Methods A total of faecal samples were obtained from eight randomly selected commercial cattle farms and then placed in tryptose soya broth TSB Thereafter the faeces were inoculated onto sorbitol MacConkey agar SMAC to identify non sorbitol fermenting NSF colonies and then sub cultured onto eosin methylene blue agar EMB Escherichia coli O agglutination test for the identification of E coli O antigen was carried out with O latex kit Oxoid This involved mixing the isolates with ml of saline solution separately followed by the addition of test antigens to observe for agglutination Results Colonies on SMAC appeared phenotypically colourless and were presumptive for E coli O while those on EMB gave the characteristic greenish metallic sheen for E coli Of the faecal samples E coli colonies of seventy six were confirmed by Gram staining and biochemical testing using Indole Methyl red Voges Proskauer and Citrate IMViC Characterization of the E coli isolates detected two O serogroups from two apparently healthy cattle The prevalence of E coli O was found to be Association between the serogroup and source of samples farms was significant P lt The study confirmed that cattle are important source of enterohaemorrhagic E coli and may pose a risk to humans who come in contact with cattle faeces in areas of Kaduna State Nigeria Conclusion Escherichia coli O serve as a threat to human health The differences in the dynamics of disease may contribute to disparity in prevalences Good hygienic measures on the farms are essential in limiting the transmission of E coli to in contact individuals