Quantification of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli from retailed meats

Meats are apparently found to be the vehicle of several pathogenic bacteria. Although the existence of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) was reported to be reserved in certain meat types in various countries around the globe, insufficient informations about EPEC were documented in Thailand. In this study, the preliminary investigation of EPEC quantity in meats was carried out by Most probable number-polymerase chain reaction (MPN-PCR) method. In the screening process, a total of 30 meat samples purchased from various fresh market in Hat-Yai city, were investigated. The highest and lowest amounts of typical EPEC were found in chicken meat samples as 15 MPN/g and 3.6 MPN/g, respectively. However, the amount of bfp-habouring E. coli revealed relatively high (highest at 53 MPN/g). Atypical EPEC was found in one beef sample as 19 MPN/g. Typical and atypical EPEC were not found in pork samples. These results exhibited the baseline data on the EPEC quantity in meats sold in southern Thai area and may suggest the high prevalence of pathogenic E. coli carrying virulence genes which may be resulted in pathogenesis to human.