Impact of the Probiotic Organism Megasphaera elsdenii on Escherichia coli O157:H7 Prevalence in Finishing Cattle

Joshua M Maher; James S Drouillard; Adrian N Baker; Vanessa de Aguiar Veloso; Qing Kang; Justin J Kastner; Sara E Gragg

doi:10.1016/j.jfp.2023.100133

Impact of the Probiotic Organism Megasphaera elsdenii on Escherichia coli O157:H7 Prevalence in Finishing Cattle

J Food Prot. 2023 Sep;86(9):100133. doi: 10.1016/j.jfp.2023.100133. Epub 2023 Jul 20.

Authors

Joshua M Maher¹, James S Drouillard¹, Adrian N Baker¹, Vanessa de Aguiar Veloso¹, Qing Kang², Justin J Kastner³, Sara E Gragg⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Animal Sciences and Industry, Kansas State University, 1530 Mid-Campus Drive North, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA.
² Department of Statistics, Kansas State University, 1116 Mid-Campus Drive North, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA.
³ Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, Kansas State University, 1620 Denison Avenue, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA.
⁴ Department of Animal Sciences and Industry, Kansas State University, 1530 Mid-Campus Drive North, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA. Electronic address: saragragg@k-state.edu.

PMID: 37479183
DOI: 10.1016/j.jfp.2023.100133

Abstract

Feedlot cattle commonly shed the foodborne pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7 in their feces. Megasphaera elsdenii (ME), a lactic acid-utilizing bacterium, is commonly administered to cattle to avoid lactate accumulation in the rumen and to control ruminal acidosis. The impact of administering ME on foodborne pathogen prevalence, specifically E. coli O157:H7, has not been explored. The purpose of this study was to quantify E. coli O157:H7 prevalence in finishing cattle administered ME. Cattle (n = 448) were assigned to treatments in a randomized complete block design with repeated measurements over two sampling periods. Treatments were arranged as a 2 × 2 factorial containing: ruminally protected lysine (RPL; included for a complementary study) fed at 0% or 0.45% of diet dry matter; with or without ME. Freeze-dried ME was administered as an oral drench (1 × 10¹⁰ CFU/steer on day one) and then top dressed onto basal diets (1 × 10⁷ CFU/steer) daily thereafter. Rectoanal mucosal swabs (RAMS) were obtained from animals before harvest to determine the E. coli O157:H7 prevalence. The inclusion of RPL (P = 0.2136) and ME (P = 0.5012) did not impact E. coli O157:H7 prevalence, and RPL was not included in any significant interactions (P > 0.05). A significant interaction was observed between ME and sampling period (P = 0.0323), indicating that the effect of ME on E. coli O157:H7 prevalence varied over the sampling period. A diet containing ME reduced the odds of E. coli O157:H7 prevalence by 50% during sampling period 1 (8.0% and 14.7% for cattle with and without ME, respectively) and increased the odds by 23% during sampling period 2 (10.8% and 8.9% for cattle with and without ME, respectively). Administering ME in cattle diets did not impact E. coli O157:H7 in feedlot cattle. This is the first study to investigate the use of ME as a preharvest food safety intervention in cattle, and additional research is necessary to determine the efficacy.

Keywords: Escherichia coli; Feedlot cattle; Food safety; Interventions; Megasphaera elsdenii.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial, Veterinary
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animal Feed / analysis
Animals
Cattle
Cattle Diseases* / microbiology
Colony Count, Microbial
Escherichia coli Infections* / epidemiology
Escherichia coli Infections* / microbiology
Escherichia coli Infections* / veterinary
Escherichia coli O157*
Feces / microbiology
Male
Megasphaera elsdenii
Prevalence
Probiotics*
Sheep