Low prevalence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in horses in Ohio, USA

J Food Prot. 2010 Nov;73(11):2089-92. doi: 10.4315/0362-028x-73.11.2089.

Abstract

Manure from draft animals deposited in fields during vegetable and fruit production may serve as a potential source of preharvest pathogen contamination of foods. To better quantify this risk, we determined the prevalence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in horses. Between June and September 2009, freshly voided fecal samples were collected from horses stabled on 242 separate premises in Ohio, USA. Overall, the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 was 1 of 242 (0.4% prevalence, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.01 to 2.28). E. coli O157:H7 was recovered from none of the 107 equine fecal samples (0% prevalence, 95% CI = 0.00 to 3.39) that originated from locations without ruminant presence, and only 1 of the 135 horse fecal samples (0.7% prevalence, 95% CI = 0.02 to 4.06) from sites where ruminants were also present. The lone positive sample was collected from a horse that was costabled with a goat. Subsequent sampling at that location identified indistinguishable subtypes of E. coli O157:H7 present in the cohoused goat, in the environment, insects, sheep, and other goats housed in an adjacent field. E. coli O157:H7 was not isolated from the five subsequent samples from this horse. These data indicate that E. coli O157:H7 carriage by horses is an uncommon event.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Carrier State / microbiology
  • Carrier State / veterinary*
  • Colony Count, Microbial
  • Crops, Agricultural / microbiology
  • Escherichia coli O157 / isolation & purification*
  • Food Contamination / prevention & control
  • Food Microbiology
  • Horses / microbiology*
  • Manure / microbiology*
  • Odds Ratio
  • Ohio / epidemiology
  • Prevalence

Substances

  • Manure