Molecular epidemiology of a reproductive tract-associated colibacillosis outbreak in a layer breeder flock associated with atypical avian pathogenic Escherichia coli

Paul Wigley (1)

1 Institute of Infection and Global Health [University of Liverpool, UK]

The molecular epidemiology of 70 Escherichia coli isolates from an infection outbreak in a layer breeder flock was examined by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and for a range of virulence factors by PCR. PFGE showed 35 of 45 isolates from eight disease cases was associated with a single clonal group that was the exclusive strain associated with reproductive tract. A second unrelated group was found in environmental isolates and healthy birds. Remaining isolates were unrelated to each other or either clonal group. PCR virulotyping indicated the ‘epidemic' clonal group contains virulence factors including iss, sfa, tsh, iucC , ibeA, and sitA associated with avian pathogenic E. coli plus several virulence factors more normally associated with human urinary tract infection. Significantly the ‘epidemic' clone was also found in an environmental sample suggesting it may have been transmitted to the flock via the environment.

Mots clés: Life Sciences

Paul Wigley. Molecular epidemiology of a reproductive tract-associated colibacillosis outbreak in a layer breeder flock associated with atypical avian pathogenic Escherichia coli. Avian Pathology, 2008, 37 (04), pp.375-378. ⟨10.1080/03079450802216579⟩. ⟨hal-00540119⟩