The prevalence of non-O157:H7 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in Namibian game meat.

Large game animals play an important role as carriers and transmitters of O157:H7 and non-O157:H7 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in nature. Fresh meat obtained from game animals has been identified as an important source of food-borne STEC infections. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of the top 6 non-O157 STEC strains (serogroups O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145) in Namibian game meat based on testing for stx, eae, and O-group-specific genes.