Presence of Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia coli and thermophilic Campylobacter spp. in cattle, food and water sources on Alpine pastures in Bavaria

Abstract

In Germany, thermophilic Campylobacter spp. and Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) are - apart from Salmonella spp. and Yersinia spp. - the most frequent bacterial causes of human food borne gastroenteritis. The objective of this study was to assess the risk for a Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) or thermophilic Campylobacter spp. contamination of raw food produced on alpine pastures, as in the Bavarian Alps the food production on alpine pastures is still of great importance. Besides the aspect of consumers' health protection, it was on the other hand the intention to analyse the seasonality of bovine STEC and thermophilic Campylobacter spp. excretion. Samples of cattle feces, of unpasteurized products as raw milk, cheese and butter and of water supplies from four different Bavarian farms were collected and examined by culture-based microbiological and molecular methods. STEC and thermophilic Campylobacter spp. were detected in 37 % and 13 % of the fecal samples, respectively. No season-dependent change in the detection rate of STEC excretion was observed comparing winter and summer periods, while excretion of thermophilic Campylobacter spp. seemed to decrease in summertime. Moreover, thermophilic Campylobacter spp. were found in one of 209 milk samples (0.5 %), whereas STEC were determined in one sample of spring water and in one of home-made cheese.