29G-19 |
Prevalence of foodborne pathogens in cattle at agricultural research stations in Louisiana |
J. T. NGUYEN, R. Beverly, L. V. A. Da Silva, and M. E. Janes. Dept. of Food Science, Louisiana State Univ. Agricultural Center, 111 Food Science Bldg., Baton Rouge, LA 70803-4200 There is limited knowledge on the prevalence of human foodborne pathogens on cow/calf cattle farms in Louisiana. A better understanding of the prevalence of foodborne pathogens on cow/calf farms can help develop preventive measures to control these foodborne pathogens. Our study investigated the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 (EC), Listeria species (LS), Salmonella species (SS), and Campylobacter species (CS) in cattle at agricultural research stations located in Louisiana. We collected fecal samples at two agricultural research stations in Louisiana from 110 cows and 54 calves in October of 2002. Fecal swabs were suspended into 1 ml of BHI broth. For the detection of EC, 0.1 ml of fecal samples were plated onto MacConkey Sorbital agar and incubated at 37°C for 24 h. Positive colonies were streaked onto Eosin Methylene Blue and incubated at 37°C for 24 h. Positive isolates were confirmed by EC agglutination test. For the detection of LS, 0.1 ml of fecal samples were plated onto Oxford media w/antibiotic supplement and then incubated at 37°C for 24 h. For the detection of CS, 0.1 ml of fecal samples were plated onto Abeyta-Hunt-Bark agar w/antibiotic supplement w/5% lysed horse blood and plates were incubated under microaeophic conditions at 42°C for 24 h. We found 4.9% prevalence (8 positive/164 cattle tested) of EC in the cattle, 3.9 % of the cattle tested positive for LS (6 positive/164 cattle tested) and 12% of the cattle tested positive for CS (20 positive/164 cattle tested). Salmonella species were not detected in any of the fecal samples tested. Our results suggested that some of the cows may have cross-infected their calves with E. coli O157:H7. This research can help develop good management practices to reduce the cross infection of cattle by looking at the start of pre-harvest problems on cattle farm operations.
Session 29G, Food Microbiology: General
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