Prevalence of verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli harbored in the intestine of cattle in Japan.

The production of verotoxin was examined in 2152 Escherichia coli isolates from 387 cattle in Japan from 1992 to 1994. The toxin was detected in 263 isolates from 94 cattle (detection rate: 24.3%). Verotoxin-producing E. coli (VTEC) was isolated from the cattle in 15 out of 17 prefectures, and the strains were divided into 33 serotypes. E. coli O157:H7 was isolated from 7 out of 387 cattle (detection rate: 1.8%) in four prefectures. These results suggest that VTEC is widely distributed in Japan and include a wide variety of serotypes.