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Escherichia coli is the most common cause of human and canine urinary tract infection (UTI). Clonal groups, often with high levels of antimicrobial resistance, are a major component of the E. coli population that causes human UTI. While little is known about the population structure of E. coli that causes UTI in dogs, there is evidence that dogs and humans can share fecal strains of E. coli and that human-associated strains can cause disease in dogs. In order to better characterize the E. coli strains that cause canine UTI, we analyzed 295 E. coli isolates obtained from canine urine samples from five veterinary diagnostic laboratories and analyzed their multilocus sequence types, phenotypic and genotypic antimicrobial resistance profiles, and virulence-associated gene repertoires. Sequence type 372 (ST372), an infrequent human pathogen, was the predominant sequence type in dogs at all locations. Extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing isolates with blaCTX-M genes were uncommon in canine isolates but when present were often associated with sequence types that have been described in human infections. This provides support for occasional cross-host-species sharing of strains that cause extraintestinal disease and highlights the importance of understanding the role of companion animals in the overall transmission patterns of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections cause major public health challenges. Most E. coli O157:H7 infections occur sporadically, and the source of infection is often difficult to identify with certainty (1,2). Many [...]

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 and related non-O157 STEC strains are zoonotic pathogens that can cause severe gastrointestinal illness in humans; clinical signs and symptoms of disease range from [...]

Salmonella enterica remains a formidable public health challenge, resulting in [approximately equals] 1.2 million illnesses and 400 deaths annually in the United States alone (1). Disease manifestations include diarrhea, fever, [...]

In North America, epizootic pneumonia is a devastating, population-limiting disease of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) (1-5). Anecdotal and experimental evidence suggests that in at least some instances, this disease may [...]

In late December 2004, deaths of common redpoll finches (Carduelis flammea) were reported around the city of Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, coincident with a prolonged period of extreme cold (below -40°F). [...]

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in stable genome regions provide durable measurements of species evolution. We systematically identified each SNP in concatenations of all backbone ORFs in 7 newly or previously sequenced evolutionarily instructive pathogenic Escherichia coil O157:H7, O157:[H.sup.-], and O55:H7. The 1,113 synonymous SNPs demonstrate emergence of the largest cluster of this pathogen only in the last millennium. Unexpectedly, shared SNPs within circumscribed clusters of organisms suggest severely restricted survival and limited effective population sizes of pathogenic O157:H7, tenuous survival of these organisms in nature, source-sink evolutionary dynamics, or, possibly, a limited number of mutations that confer selective advantage. A single large segment spanning the rfb-gnd gene cluster is the only backbone region convincingly acquired by recombination as O157 emerged from 055. This concatenomic analysis also supports using SNPs to differentiate closely related pathogens for infection control and forensic purposes. However, constrained radiations raise the possibility of making false associations between isolates. E. coli | evolution | SNPs

The molecular epidemiology of [bla.sub.CMY-2]-bearing plasmids and Salmonella and Escherichia coli hosts are studied by using restriction analyses. The studies have shown that the hosts have identified shared highly similar plasmids in these species, a clonal host-plasmid relationship in Salmonella enterica serotype Newport and a high diversity of strain types and plasmids among commensal Escherichia coli isolates.

We compared human and bovine isolates of Salmonella enterica using antimicrobial-drug resistance profiles and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. From 2000 through 2006, we observed an increase in a novel multidrug-resistant clone [...]

The comparison of phenotypic traits of coexisting epidemic and nonepidemic strains of Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium and Newport identified specific upregulated genes during defined stress conditions but no common traits were shared by epidemic serovars.

The observation of feedlot cattle for fecal excretion and rectoanal junction (RAJ) colonization with Escherichia coli 0157:H7 indicates that the presence of supershedders influence group-level excretion parameters.

A study identified genetic elements specific to recent and contemporary epidemic strains of Salmonella (S) enterica using comparative genomic analysis. Results reveal that epidemic strains of S. enterica have specific genes and gene regions that were shared by isolates of the same subtype.

A study is presented on how a dietary supplement affects the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli on a dairy farm in Washington State. In 2003, the WSU dairy discontinued its use of a medicated dietary supplement and a low prevalence of streptomycin, sulfadiazine, and tetracycline (SSuT strains) was observed in 2004. The focus of the study was to formally test the observation, with the implication that success of SSuT strains is most likely due to phenotypic traits that take direct or indirect advantage of the presence of the dietary supplement.

The fecal culture for Escherichia coli O157:H7 is compared to rectoanal mucosal swab (RAMS) culture in diary heifers. RAMS enrichment culture is as sensitive as fecal culture using immunomagnetic separation (IMS), is cheaper than fecal IMS culture and can yield quantitative data.

In 1999 and 2000, 3 state health departments reported 4 outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness due to Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium in employees, clients, and client animals from 3 companion animal [...]

We tested the hypothesis that rural populations have increased exposure to Eschenchia coil O157:H7. We measured circulating antibodies against the O157 lipopolysaccharide in rural Wyoming residents and in blood donors [...]

Escherichia coli O157 can survive in water trough sediments on cattle ranches for over six months and can still infect calves. This shows that water trough sediments contaminated with feces can be a source of infection. This strain of E. coli can cause serious disease in humans.