Prevalence and characterization of Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolates from meat and meat products sold in Amathole District, Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

Fresh vegetables have been implicated in outbreaks of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in most parts of the world. Microbiological quality of vegetables used as recipes for salads is very crucial. Residents of the Amathole District in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa consume salads frequently, although the microbial quality of recipe vegetables is questionable. The present study investigated the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of E. coli O157:H7 isolated from selected vegetables sold within the Amathole District. One hundred eighty samples of the vegetables were analyzed. Strains of E. coli O157:H7 were isolated by enrichment culture and by immunomagnetic separation and identified by conventional and molecular techniques. In three settlements in this district, the mean counts of presumptive E. coli O157 for the vegetables ranged between 9 × 103 and 1.6 × 106 CFU/g for Fort Beaufort, 1.6 × 103 and 1.6 × 105 CFU/g for Mdantsane, and 1.3 × 103 and 4.1 × 104 CFU/g for Alice. Four (10.3%) of 39 vegetable samples were confirmed to carry E. coli O157:H7. Four representative E. coli O157:H7 isolates from these vegetables were susceptible to at least one of the eight antimicrobial agents tested against them. Even though the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 was low and those isolated were susceptible to most of the antimicrobials, there remains a need for E. coli O157:H7 surveillance in vegetables used in salad recipes in urban and rural areas of South Africa.

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Consumers’ Preference and Factors Influencing Offal Consumption in Amathole District Eastern Cape, South Africa

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10093323 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (9) ◽

pp. 3323 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Babatunde Alao ◽

Andrew Falowo ◽

Amanda Chulayo ◽

Voster Muchenje

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Decision Making ◽

Meat Products ◽

Meat Consumption ◽

Eastern Cape Province ◽

Eastern Cape ◽

Nutritional Knowledge ◽

Factors Influencing ◽

Point Of Purchase

This study was conducted to determine the consumers’ perceptions and factors influencing offal meat consumption in Amathole District in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. A total of 202 consumers from Amathole District were randomly sampled from three municipalities. The study revealed that consumers were more influenced by the freshness, price, and availability of the product and these factors determine the point of purchase. The most preferred purchase-point for offal meat in this study was butchery. However, sheep offal was more preferred to cattle offal. The point of purchase, however, remains a prominent factor among other factors that could influence decision making for any consumer. When it comes to offal meat, the results showed that the majority of consumers purchased more liver, intestine, and tripe, which is because they are often sold in a combo at the butchery. Furthermore, it was revealed that consumers have nutritional knowledge of the offal meat products before making their purchase but health reasons emerged as a factor that the consumers considered the least at the point of purchase.

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Occurrence and Characterization of Escherichia coli O157 and Other Serotypes in Raw Meat Products in Morocco

Journal of Food Protection ◽

10.4315/0362-028x-71.10.2082 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 71 (10) ◽

pp. 2082-2086 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

LUCIANO BENEDUCE ◽

GIUSEPPE SPANO ◽

ARI Q. NABI ◽

FRANCESCO LAMACCHIA ◽

SALVATORE MASSA ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Susceptibility Testing ◽

Meat Products ◽

Molecular Techniques ◽

Escherichia Coli O157 ◽

Raw Meat ◽

E Coli ◽

Meat Samples ◽

The City

In this study, 100 raw meat samples were collected from 15 local Moroccan butcheries in five different areas of the city of Rabat during a period of 4 months. Overall, 7 of 15 butcheries from three areas of the city yielded strains of Escherichia coli O157. Single isolates from 9 (9%) of 100 raw meat samples were biochemically and serologically confirmed as E. coli O157. Using molecular techniques, two strains were positive for the Shiga toxin, with two additional strains containing an attaching-effacing gene. All potentially virulent serotypes isolated from these meat samples showed distinct pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profiles. Based on antibiotic susceptibility testing, more than 70% of the isolates were resistant to ampicillin and clavulanic acid–amoxicillin. Moreover, one strain was resistant to more than three antibiotics. Our study represents the first survey of E. coli O157 and related serotypes in raw meat products in Morocco.

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