Investigation of shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in avian species in India

AIMS: To investigate the presence or absence of shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in avian species in India. METHODS AND RESULTS: Faecal samples originating from 500 chicken and 25 free flying pigeons were screened for the presence of E. coli. A total of 426 (chicken, 401; pigeons, 25) E. coli strains were isolated. Of 426 E. coli strains, 387 were grouped into 77 serogroups, while 70 and 59 strains were untypable and rough, respectively. All isolates were subjected to multiplex polymerase chain reaction (m-PCR) for the detection of stx(1), stx(2), eaeA, hlyA and saa genes. None of the E. coli strains studied showed the presence of stx(1), stx(2) or their variants and saa genes. Overall 11 (2.74%) and seven (1.74%) strains from chickens possessed eaeA and hlyA genes, respectively, while as only six (1.49%) strains from chickens possessed both eaeA and hlyA genes. O9, O8, O60 and O25 serogroups were most predominant of which there were 24 (5.63%), 23 (5.39%), 23 (5.39%) and 20 (4.69%) strains, respectively. None of the isolates from pigeons showed the presence of any of the virulence genes studied. CONCLUSIONS: STEC are absent in chickens and pigeons. However, further studies are required in this direction to confirm or contradict our findings. E. coli strains originating from birds are carrying a low percentage eaeA or hlyA genes. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The present study is the first attempt to investigate STEC in chickens and free flying pigeons in India. The chickens and pigeons cannot be considered as important carrier of STEC in India.