Isolation and Frequency of Escherichia coli O157:H7 from Fecal Samples of Lorestan Ostrich Farms using Culture and Multiplex PCR

E.coliO157:H7 is recognized globally as an important cause of diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis (HC) and haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in humans. The main and natural reservoirs of E. coliO157:H7 are feces of domestic and wild animals, which shed the bacteria with their feces into the environment.The aim of the present study was to isolation and the prevalence determination of E. coliO157:H7 in fecal samples of ostrich farms using culture and multiplex PCR in Lorestan province. In this cross sectional study, at all 100 fecal samples of ostrich were collected during March to May 2015. A 10-g of fecal sample was added to 90 ml of Trypticase soya broth containing novobiocin and all of enrichment samples were cultured on selective sorbitol Macconkey agar plates supplemented with Cefixime and tellurite (CT-SMAC) for screening test. All nonsorbitol fermenting isolates were evaluated to multiplex PCR using specific primers. From 100 fecal samples, after enrichment and selective plating, 15 (15%) nonsorbitol fermenting were isolated, but only 4 (4%) isolates were identified as E.coliO157:H7 using multiplex PCR. The present study is the first report on isolation of E. coliO157:H7 from ostrich feces sample in Iran. This study shows the importance of ostrich fecal as a reservoir of E. coliO157:H7.