Characteristics of Shiga Toxin-Producing Circulating in Asymptomatic Food Handlers

Overview

Journal Toxins (Basel)

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Toxicology

Date 2023 Nov 24

PMID 37999503

Authors

Xinxia Sui

Xi Yang

Ming Luo

Hua Wang

Qian Liu

Hui Sun

Yujuan Jin

Yannong Wu

Xiangning Bai

Yanwen Xiong

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) is a foodborne zoonotic pathogen that causes diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis (HC), and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) worldwide. Since the infection can be asymptomatic, the circulation of STEC in some asymptomatic carriers, especially in healthy-food-related professionals, is not yet well understood. In this study, a total of 3987 anal swab samples from asymptomatic food handlers were collected, and ten swabs recovered STEC strains (0.251%). Of the ten STEC isolates, seven serotypes and eight sequence types (ST) were determined using whole genome sequencing (WGS). Two subtypes ( and ) and four subtypes (, , , and ) were detected. Seven different insertion sites were found in fourteen Stx prophages, and the and were the newly identified insertion sites. The ten strains showed the variable Stx transcription levels after the mitomycin C induction. The whole-genome phylogeny indicated that the strains from the asymptomatic food handlers were genetically distant from the strains of HUS patients. The STEC isolates circulating in asymptomatic carriers might pose a low potential to cause disease.

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