• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.286-294
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• 2004

Between 1997 and 1998 in Korea, 56 isolates of Escherichia coli were obtained from pig suffering diarrhea. Among those, 38 isolates that showed the hemolytic activity, antimicrobial resistance, and toxin production were studied. Among 38 isolates, thirty-six isolates $(94.7\%)$ were resistant to tetracycline, 27 isolates $(71.0\%)$ were resistant to ampicillin, 26 isolates $(68.4\%)$ were resistant to chloramphenicol, and 21 isolates $(55.2\%)$ were resistant to trimethoprim, while none was resistant to aztreonam, amikacin, and norfloxacin. Among these iso­lates, 21 isolates $(55.3\%)$ were multiple drug resistant to at least four different class antimicrobial agents. Extended spectrum $\beta-lactamase$ producing isolates were not detected in the double disk synergy test. In these hemolytic Escherichia coli, heat-stable enterotoxin $(89.5\%)$ was the most prevalent toxin, followed by vero­toxins $(47.4\%),$ and then heat-labile enterotoxin $(31.6\%).$ Except 8 isolates $(21.0\%)$ which produced ST only, 12 isolates $(31.6\%)$ produced ST and LT, 13 isolates $(34.2\%)$ produced ST, VT, and VTe, and 5 isolates $(13.2\%)$ produced VT and VTe. However, none produced all 4 types of toxin, simultaneously. The predominant serotype could not be determined by the agglutination method. Sixteen isolates $(42.1\%)$ were strongly adhered to T-24 bladder cell and 17 isolates $(44.7\%)$ were to Caco-2 intestinal cell. Especially, 11 strains $(28.9\%)$ were evaluated as strongly adhesive to both T-24 cells and Caco-2 cells. Genes for toxin and the antimicrobial resistance were transferred to clinical isolates of Escherichia coli from human urine by the filter mating method. Results suggest the possibility that antimicrobial resistance and toxin can be transferred from animals to humans by direct con­tact of resistant bacteria as well as gene transfer, although there was no correlation between toxin production, adherent activity, and antimicrobial resistance among hemolytic E. coli isolated from pig suffering diarrhea.