Survival of Pathogenic Escherichia Coli on Basil, Lettuce, and Spinach. (28th December 2012)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Markland, S. M.; Shortlidge, K. L.; Hoover, D. G.; Yaron, S.; Patel, J.; Singh, A.; Sharma, M.; Kniel, K. E.
• Is Part Of: Zoonoses and public health. Volume 60:Number 8(2013)
• Page Start: 563
• Page End: 571
• Publication Date: 2012-12-28
• Subjects: Zoonoses -- Periodicals; Public health -- Periodicals; 636.0896959
• DOI: 10.1111/zph.12033
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1863-1959

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="zph12033-abs-0001"> <title>Summary</title> <p>The contamination of lettuce, spinach and basil with pathogenic <italic>E. coli</italic> has caused numerous illnesses over the past decade. <italic>E. coli</italic> O157:H7, <italic>E. coli</italic> O104:H4 and avian pathogenic <italic>E. coli</italic> (APECstx‐ and APECstx+) were inoculated on basil plants and in promix substrate using drip and overhead irrigation. When overhead inoculated with 7 log CFU/ml of each strain, <italic>E. coli</italic> populations were significantly (<italic>P </italic>= 0.03) higher on overhead‐irrigated plants than on drip‐irrigated plants. APEC<italic>stx</italic>‐, <italic>E. coli</italic> O104:H4 and APEC<italic>stx</italic>+ populations were recovered on plants at 3.6, 2.3 and 3.1 log CFU/g at 10 dpi (days post‐inoculation), respectively. <italic>E. coli</italic> O157:H7 was not detected on basil after 4 dpi. The persistence of <italic>E. coli</italic> O157:H7 and APECstx‐ were similar when co‐inoculated on lettuce and spinach plants. On spinach and lettuce, <italic>E. coli</italic> O157:H7 and APEC populations declined from 5.7 to 6.1 log CFU/g and 4.5 log CFU/g, to undetectable at 3 dpi and 0.6–1.6 log CFU/g at 7 dpi, respectively. The detection of low populations of APEC and <italic>E. coli</italic> O104:H4 strains 10 dpi indicates these strains may be more adapted to environmental conditions than <italic>E. coli</italic> O157:H7. This is the first reported study of <italic>E. coli</italic> O104:H4 on a produce commodity.</p> </abstract>