Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) isolated from fecal samples of African dromedary camels

Baschera, Melinda; Cernela, Nicole; Stevens, Marc J.A.; Liljander, Anne; Jores, Jörg; Corman, Victor Max; Nüesch-Inderbinen, Magdalena; Stephan, Roger

In sub-Saharan Africa, little information is available on the epidemiology of STEC in humans, food and animals, and current knowledge of STEC sources needs to be improved [12] . Data on the occurrence and the characteristics of STEC in African camels is limited. This study provides evidence for the fecal carriage of STEC among dromedary camels located on a ranch in Laikipia Kenya. The restriction to one farm in Kenya is a limitation of this study and may have led to bias associated with camels from one herd only. In order to obtain a wider picture, analyses of feces from camels on other farms and other regions in Kenya would be required. For this investigation, a total of 163 fecal swabs were obtained. Thereof, 53 (32.5%) tested positive for stx by real-time PCR. STEC was recovered from 20 of the stx positive samples, amounting to 12.3% of all fecal samples. Overall, fecal carriage of STEC was confirmed for 14.5% (17 of a total of 117) of the female camels and 6.7% (3 of 45) of the male camels ( Table 2) .