Characterization and zoonotic impact of Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli in some wild bird species

AIM: groups that can infect man; the present study was designed to detect the occurrence of STEC among wild birds in Egypt. MATERIALS AND METHODS: genes. RESULTS: genes together were detected in four birds (one cattle egret [5.6%], two moorhens [6.1%], and one house teal, [10%]). Only one pigeon (3.1%) possessed the three alleles. Disk diffusion test results showed that cefixime was the most effective against STEC serotypes with (93.3%) sensitivity, followed by gentamycin (56.7%), and amoxicillin (50%). On the other hand, all the recovered STEC isolates were resistant to cefotaxime, doxycycline, cephalothin, and sulfisoxazole. RAPD fingerprinting using primers OPA-2 and OPA-9 showed that STEC isolates were heterogeneous; they yielded 30 and 27 different clusters, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Wild birds carry STEC and may add to the contamination of the surrounding environment.