A survey for incidence of pathogenic
Escherichia coli in fecal specimens or intestinal contents from the following animal species and human beings was carried out; apparently healthly 50 calves, 115 cattle, 195 swine 70 chickens under sixty days old, 202 chickens over sixty-one days old, 44 stray dogs, 84 fresh-water fishes (crucian carps, rainbow-trouts, daces, gobies, carps, calfishes), 159 students in junior high school and 154 food-handlers, and, 30 patients suffered from diarrhea. The results obtained are summarized as follows:
1) The highest frequency of incidence was observed in cattle (22.6%), then calves (22.0%), dogs (13.6%), chickens under sixty days old (10.0%), chickens over sixty-one days old (7.4%), swine (6.7%), fresh-water fishes (6.0%), students in junior high school (5.7%) and food-handlers (4.5%) in descending order. It is notable that pathogenic
E. coli was detected from apparently healthly human beings and animal species, especially in fresh-water fishes, in such grade.
2) The serotypes found from human beings and animal species in common were as follows: O 128 (except fresh-water fishes), O 55 (except dogs), O 23
ac (except cattle and dogs), O 86 or O 112
ac (except chickens and fresh-water fishes) and O 136 (except swine dogs and fresh-water fishes). Only the serotype O 127
a was isolated from both human beings and fresh-water fishes.
3) Incidence of pathogenic
E. coli in cattle seemed to be more frequent in winter than in summer.
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