Escherichia coli in Chicken Carcasses in Southern Brazil: Absence of Shigatoxigenic (STEC) and Isolation of Atypical Enteropathogenic (aEPEC)

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (aEPEC) in frozen chicken carcasses sold at stores in southern Brazil. Typical E. coli colonies were enumerated in 246 chicken carcasses, and the presence of stx1, stx2, eae genes was investigated in their rinse liquid and in E. coli strains isolated from those carcasses. Strains of E. coli were also investigated for the presence of bfp gene. A median of 0.6 cfu.g-1(ranging from