Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli of cattle origin represents a surveillance priority and an important human health threat to public and travelers of the Indian Ocean islands

Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC), also known as enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) pose a significant threat to public health worldwide. Livestock animals are well known reservoirs of STEC. In this study, cattle were investigated in situ on the tropical island of Mauritius. This island is of economic importance as it has a consolidated tourism industry and possesses several attributes which are increasingly being experienced by other tropical oceanic islands. Throughout our research, STEC were recovered in 20.3% (146/718) of E. coli isolates screened from faecal, milk, and meat samples. Prevalence-wise, non-EHEC-7 dominates EHEC-7 (seven serogroups classified as most virulent) and accounts for 77.4% and 22.6% of data set, respectively. Different virulent profiles were observed, with eaeA and EHEC-hlyA genes being more frequent. These virulent E. coli strains represents potential threats to both local and international travelers. Mauritius today may thus serve as an “overview” of the potential threat encountered by many other oceanic islands. Practical applications: As in any risk assessment procedures, there is a need for identification and characterization of potential threats. With the flourishing tourism industry and increasing population in the Indian Ocean region, a greater demand for safe food justifies the need for a more effective surveillance system approach. Given the gap in the Indian Ocean surveillance system and the presence of Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli in cattle with potential for zoonotic transmission to humans resulting from this study, we believe that providing information to policy makers and public health decision makers will enable the setting up of an Indian Ocean Zoonoses Control Programme supervised by the WHO to help promote prevention, public health education, research, surveillance, and control of zoonoses in this part of the globe, most commonly associated with diarrheal disease among both local and international travelers of the Indian Ocean region.