Using source-associated mobile genetic elements to identify zoonotic extraintestinal E. coli infections
A one-health perspective may provide new and actionable information about Escherichia coli transmission. E. coli colonizes a broad range of vertebrates, including humans and food-production animals, and is a leading cause of bladder, kidney, and bloodstream infections in humans.
Substantial evidence supports foodborne transmission of pathogenic E. coli strains from food animals to humans. However, the relative contribution of foodborne zoonotic E. coli (FZEC) to the human extraintestinal disease burden and the distinguishing characteristics of such strains remain undefined.
Using a comparative genomic analysis of a large collection of contemporaneous, geographically-matched clinical and meat-source E. coli isolates (n = 3111), researchers identified 17 source-associated mobile genetic elements – predominantly plasmids and bacteriophages – and integrated them into a novel Bayesian latent class model to predict the origins of clinical E. coli isolates.
Researchers collected retail meat samples and clinical isolates from Jan. 1, 2012 to Dec. 31, 2012 in Flagstaff, Arizona. During this 12-month period, all available brands of raw chicken, turkey and pork were sampled from all nine major grocery chains in Flagstaff every two weeks.
Concurrently, all human clinical E. coli isolates from urine and blood samples at the Flagstaff Medical Center – the main clinical laboratory serving Flagstaff and surrounding cities – were collected. The Northern Arizona Healthcare IRB approved isolate collection and medical record review (protocol number: 573857–4) with a waiver of consent.
The research team estimated that approximately 8% of human extraintestinal E. coli infections (mostly urinary tract infections) in the study population were caused by FZEC. FZEC strains were equally likely to cause symptomatic disease as non-FZEC strains.
Two FZEC lineages, ST131-H22 and ST58, appeared to have particularly high virulence potential.
The team's findings imply that FZEC strains collectively cause more urinary tract infections than does any single non-E. coli uropathogenic species (e.g., Klebsiella pneumoniae). The novel approach outlined in the study can be applied in other settings to identify the highest-risk FZEC strains, determine their sources, and inform new one-health strategies to decrease the heavy public health burden imposed by extraintestinal E. coli infections.
In a summary by Sophie Kevany published March 23 in The Guardian, she wrote that meat bacteria are the likely cause of over half a million urinary tract infections (UTIs) in the U.S. every year. One of its authors warned that deaths from UTI-driven bloodstream infections could be on the rise.
Read more at: "E coli from meat behind half a million UTIs in the US every year, study suggests."
Cindy M. Liu et al. "Using source-associated mobile genetic elements to identify zoonotic extraintestinal E. coli infections." One Health. 2023. 100518, ISSN 2352-7714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100518.
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