Sim Eby M, Kim Ryan, Gall Mailie, Arnott Alicia, Howard Peter, Valcanis Mary, Howden Benjamin P, Sintchenko Vitali
Enteric Reference Laboratory and Microbial Genomics Laboratory, Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory Services, NSW Health Pathology, Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead, NSW, Australia.
Microbiological Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Front Microbiol. 2021 Dec 23;12:713724. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.713724. eCollection 2021.
The disease caused by Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) remains a significant public health challenge globally, but the incidence of human STEC infections in Australia remains relatively low. This study examined the virulence characteristics and diversity of STEC isolates in the state of New South Wales between December 2017 and May 2020. Utilisation of both whole and core genome multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) allowed for the inference of genomic diversity and detection of isolates that were likely to be epidemiologically linked. The most common STEC serotype and subtype detected in this study were O157:H7 and , respectively. A genomic scan of other virulence factors present in STEC suggested interplay between iron uptake system and virulence factors that mediate either iron release or countermeasures against host defence that could result in a reduction of expression. This reduced expression of the dominant genotype could contribute to the reduced incidence of STEC-related illness in Australia. Genomic surveillance of STEC becomes an important part of public health response and ongoing interrogation of virulence factors in STEC offers additional insights for the public health risk assessment.
由产志贺毒素大肠杆菌（STEC）引起的疾病在全球范围内仍然是一项重大的公共卫生挑战，但澳大利亚人类STEC感染的发病率仍然相对较低。本研究调查了2017年12月至2020年5月期间新南威尔士州STEC分离株的毒力特征和多样性。利用全基因组和核心基因组多位点序列分型（MLST）可以推断基因组多样性，并检测可能存在流行病学关联的分离株。本研究中检测到的最常见的STEC血清型和亚型分别是O157:H7和 。对STEC中存在的其他毒力因子进行的基因组扫描表明，铁摄取系统与介导铁释放或对抗宿主防御的毒力因子之间存在相互作用，这可能导致 表达的降低。优势 基因型的这种表达降低可能导致澳大利亚STEC相关疾病的发病率降低。STEC的基因组监测成为公共卫生应对措施的重要组成部分，对STEC毒力因子的持续研究为公共卫生风险评估提供了更多见解。
