| Summary: | During 2006 one hundred and three white veal calves slaughtered at an abattoir in Isernia (Italy) were examined for E. coli O157 intestinal carriage and carcass contamination, using Immuno-Magnetic Separation (IMS) and multiplex PCR. Faecal material before slaughtering and carcass samples, using sponge-bag, were collected. E. coli O157 isolates were found in 10 (9,71%) faecal and 9 (8,7%) carcass samples. PCR analysis showed that all the strains from faecal and from carcass samples carried eaeA, hlyA and stx2 genes, while five strains stx1 gene. The results confirm that the slaughter practices can largely influence the rate of E. coli O157 carcasses contamination and suggest that white veal calves meat could be an important risk for human health.
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