Goats have E. coli O157:H7? OMG. According to self-proclaimed activists, it’s just those factory-farmed cattle.

All ruminants are natural reservoirs for shiga-toxin producing E. coli like O157:H7.

Jacob et al report in Applied and Environmental Microbiology they determined the fecal, hide, and carcass prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in meat goats at a U.S. processing plant. Prevalence was 11.1%, 2.7%, and 2.7%, respectively. Sixteen PFGE subtypes were identified among 49 E. coli O157:H7 isolates, some of which were present on multiple sample types or collection days.