Occurrence and characterization of ESKAPE organisms on the hands of veterinary students before patient contact at a veterinary academic hospital, South Africa.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the presence of ESKAPE organisms on the hands of students working in the intensive care unit (ICU) at a veterinary academic hospital.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among students working in an ICU at a veterinary academic hospital in South Africa. Students were sampled before the start of the ICU shift using a modified glove-juice method.

Antimicrobial growth promoters approved in food-producing animals in South Africa induce shiga toxin-converting bacteriophages from Escherichia coli O157:H7.

In this study, four antimicrobial growth promoters, including virginiamycin, josamycin, flavophospholipol, poly 2-propenal 2-propenoic acid and ultraviolet light, were tested for their capacity to induce stx-bacteriophages in 47 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 isolates. Induced bacteriophages were characterized for shiga toxin subtypes and structural genes by PCR, DNA restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) and morphological features by electron microscopy.

Occurrence, Serotypes and Virulence Characteristics of Shiga-Toxin-Producing Isolates from Goats on Communal Rangeland in South Africa.

Shiga-toxin-producing is a foodborne pathogen commonly associated with human disease characterized by mild or bloody diarrhea hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome. This study investigated the occurrence of STEC in fecal samples of 289 goats in South Africa using microbiological culture and PCR. Furthermore, 628 goat STEC isolates were characterized by serotype (O:H) and major virulence factors by PCR.

Occurrence and Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of , , and in Beef Cattle on Cow-Calf Operations in South Africa.

This study investigated occurrence and antimicrobial resistance profiles of spp. isolates in beef cattle on five cow-calf operations in South Africa. A total of 537 fecal samples from adult beef cattle ( = 435) and rectal swabs from calves ( = 102) were screened for , , and by culture and polymerase chain reaction.

Molecular profiling and antimicrobial resistance of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O26, O45, O103, O121, O145 and O157 isolates from cattle on cow-calf operations in South Africa.

In this study, 140 cattle STEC isolates belonging to serogroups O157, O26, O145, O121, O103 and O45 were characterized for 38 virulence-associated genes, antimicrobial resistance profiles and genotyped by PFGE. The majority of isolates carried both stx1 and stx2 concurrently, stx2c, and stx2d; plasmid-encoded genes ehxA, espP, subA and saa but lacked katP and etpD and eaeA. Possession of eaeA was significantly associated with the presence of nle genes, katP, etpD, ureC and terC.

Virulence Characteristics and Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Isolates from Humans in South Africa: 2006-2013.

Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) isolates (N = 38) that were incriminated in human disease from 2006 to 2013 in South Africa were characterized by serotype, virulence-associated genes, antimicrobial resistance and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The isolates belonged to 11 O:H serotypes. STEC O26:H11 (24%) was the most frequent serotype associated with human disease, followed by O111:H8 (16%), O157:H7 (13%) and O117:H7 (13%).

Occurrence and characterization of seven major Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli serotypes from healthy cattle on cow-calf operations in South Africa.

Cattle are a major reservoir of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli. This study investigated the occurrence of seven major STEC serogroups including O157, O145, O103, O121, O111, O45 and O26 among 578 STEC isolates previously recovered from 559 cattle. The isolates were characterized for serotype and major virulence genes.