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Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is known as a crucial zoonotic food-borne pathogen. The main virulence factor of STEC is the production of Shiga toxins 1 and 2. A total of 400 poultry faecal samples were collected from different poultry farms in and around Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh. The samples were cultured in selective and differential culture media, and the virulence genes of E. coli isolates were analyzed by PCR assay. Out of 400 poultry faecal samples, 170 isolates were isolated and confirmed as E. coli by different biochemical tests with an overall prevalence of 42.5%. Out of 170 E. coli isolates 154 (90.5%) were found positive by targeting uspA gene with an amplification of 884 bp. All the 154 PCR confirmed E. coli isolates subjected to multiplex PCR for the detection of virulent genes targeting eae A, stx 1 and stx 2 and obtained an amplification products, respectively at 384 bp, 180 bp and 254 bp. Out of 154 E. coli isolates, 54 (35.06%) isolates had eae A gene, 36 (23.37 %) had stx 1 gene, 41 (26.62 %) isolates had stx 2 gene, 16 (3.89 %) isolates had both eae A & stx 2, and 12 (7.79%) isolates had both stx 1 & stx 2. By avoiding contact with contaminated faeces and by maintaining proper hygienic measures at farm, contamination of poultry and poultry products may be avoided which in turn may safeguard the health of public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To study the incidence of S.enteritidis in poultry and meat samples by cultural and PCR methods. Materials and Methods: A total of 130 samples (25 each of chicken, mutton, poultry faeces, cloacal samples and 10 each of liver, spleen and kidney) collected from different sources were subjected to cultural and PCR methods for the presence of Salmonella and Salmonella enteritidis. Primers for invA and sefA gene were used for Salmonella and S.enteritidis respectively. Results: Out of 130 samples, 87 were positive for Salmonella spp. i.e. chicken-16(64%), mutton-12(48%), faeces-23(92%), cloacal swabs-23(92%), liver-5(50%), spleen and kidney samples-4(40%) each by PCR methods, whereas 77 were positive by cultural method i.e. chicken-14(56%), mutton-10(40%), faeces-22(88%), cloacal swabs-21(84%), liver-4(40%), spleen and kidney-3(30% each). Out of 87 positive for Salmonella by PCR method, 59(chicken-12, mutton-7, faeces-17, cloacal swabs-15, liver-3, spleen-2, kidney-3) were positive for S.enteritidis. High incidence of S.enteritidis (68%) in all the above samples are indicative of unhygienic conditions in poultry farms. Selective enrichment with Rappaport-Vassilidias (RV) broths and Tetrathionate (TT) broths were superior over Selenite-F (SF) and Selenite cysteine (SC) broths. Conclusions: High incidence of S.enteritidis was seen in most of poultry samples like chicken, kidney, liver and it's faeces than mutton, which was indicative of contamination of S.enteritidis is more prevalent in poultry farms. [Vet World 2012; 5(9.000): 541-545]