Isolation ofEscherichia coli0157:H7 Strain from Fecal Samples of Zoo Animal

Abstract

The isolation and characterization ofEscherichia coliO157:H7 strains from 22 out of 174 fecal samples from petting zoo animals representing twenty-two different species (camel, lion, goats, zebra, bear, baboon monkey, Siberian monkey, deer, elk, llama, pony, horses, fox, kangaroo, wolf, porcupine, chickens, tiger, ostrich, hyena, dogs, and wildcats) were investigated. One petting Al-Zawraa zoological society of Baghdad was investigated forE. coliO157:H7 over a 16-month period that spanned two summer and two autumn seasons. Variation in the occurrence ofE. coliO157:H7-positive petting zoo animals was observed, with animals being culture positive only in the summer months but not in the spring, autumn, or winter.E. coliO157:H7 isolates were distinguished by agglutination withE. coliO157:H7 latex reagent (Oxoid), identified among the isolates, which showed that multipleE. colistrains were isolated from one petting zoo animal, in which a single animal simultaneously shed multipleE. colistrains;E. coliO157:H7 was isolated only by selective enrichment culture of 2 g of petting zoo animal feces. In contrast, strains other than O157:H7 were cultured from feces of petting zoo animals without enrichment.