BACKGROUND:
Over the past 5 years, 634 cases of Shigatoxin E. coli (STEC) infection were reported to Tennessee Health Department 1. At our local children’s hospital, 4-5 children are hospitalized with STEC infection each year. Some of these children had no history of ingesting food items that could have placed them at risk to develop STEC infection; however, there are other ways that humans could get infected, such as exposure to contaminated water from cattle farms 2.
GOALS:
To determine if bodies of water in the city are contaminated with STEC.
METHODS:
Fifty (50) ml of water samples were collected from selected areas of Johnson City, TN. Samples were inoculated to Sorbitol McConkey Agar (SMA) plates under sterile techniques & incubated at 36C for 18 hours under aerobic conditions.
RESULTS:
Table 1 E. coli Strains Isolated from Water Samples
Colony Types
Founders Park
Sinking Creek
Carroll Creek
Cherokee Creek
Colorless
(STEC)
14 (3.5)
24 (6)
32 (8)
35 (8.75)
Pink
(Non-STEC )
8 (2)
3 (0.75)
7 (1.75)
4(1)
DISCUSSION/ CONCLUSION:
All sampled sites were positive for STEC. STEC is a normal flora of the gastrointestinal tract of cattle. Around city neighborhoods are pastures, as cattle farming is a major livelihood in Northeastern, TN. It is highly possible that water runoff from these pastures contaminates the waters around the city. Public health measures should be undertaken to inform the community that these waters are contaminated with STEC to prevent STEC infection.
References:
Reportable Conditions. TN Epi-news, TN Health Dept Issue 3, Volume 9, 2016
Escherichia coli O157:H7 Infections in Children Associated with Raw Milk & Raw Colostrum From Cows—California, 2006. MMWR Weekly, 57(23); 625-628, June 23, 2008.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:asrf-1027 |
| Date | 04 April 2018 |
| Creators | Miller, Rachel, MD, Yu, Alex, Macariola, Demetrio Rebano, MD |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Appalachian Student Research Forum |
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